Out of the Blue
by bittersweetgenius
Summary: Set post Season 9. Gideon's daughter comes to the Bureau and searches for answers of her still missing AWOL father. During her time with her team, she is forced to relive her troubled past, and seeks comfort in the people she's growing closest to; the agents of the BAU.
1. 1 Acquaintances

**No Copyright was intended. **

**-bittersweetgenius**

Chapter One: Acquaintances

Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau, stepped out of her car in the parking lot, and headed towards the building.

She was texting as she walked, telling her husband that she would have a good day and that she'd be home as soon as she could.

It was going to be a 'paperwork day' at the Bureau. There wasn't a case, but instead; the members of the BAU were all going to be filing and documenting their papers and most recent cases.

Just a casual Sunday at the office. Just drinking coffee and sorting through papers.

JJ smiled to herself, knowing that these were the greatest days.

Paperwork days were much better than murder-filled cases and photographs of victims, suffering tragic deaths.

These kind of days were much nicer than the days that were filled with horror.

JJ was currently running late. But, because it was a paperwork day; she wasn't bothered.

She was even considering hopping back into her car, and purchasing some takeaway coffees from McDonalds or something for the others.

She pressed her phone into her pocket, and she entered the building, just wanting to greet the team first (before she'd head out again).

She didn't get very far, when her cheerful mood was astonished with surprise.

A young woman, a similar age to JJ's own; was tapping her polished fingernails at the security desk.

She looked like she acquired attention, and was becoming more anxious by the minute.

'Excuse me, may I help you?' JJ asked her politely.

'Um… yes thanks' the woman stated politely, 'I was looking for the BAU'

'I'm Jennifer Jareau, I work for the Behavioural Analysis Unit' JJ explained, and the woman's face became delighted.

'Well, nice to meet you' and the two females quickly shook hands.

JJ quickly observed the woman.

She looked a few years younger than she was, but it couldn't have been by very much.

She was wearing diamond encrusted sneakers with the jewels used for studs.

She wore a creamed colour sweater with a 'New York University' emblem on it, and teamed them with some blue denim skinny jeans.

She wore a necklace around her neck which contained one bead in the shape of the letter 'S'.

Her hair was a light brown colour, and went down, just past her shoulders.

It looked recently straightened, but there was still a 'messy' look about it.

The woman's nails were perfectly clear polished, yet her face was free of make-up and her lips were unglossed.

It looked pretty natural, which JJ admired. Not many women would be willing to walk out in public without some form of product on. Whether it was just a balm or mascara or something.

A bag swung from her shoulder, but it was quite small. Only containing a wallet and a cell phone.

'So' JJ nodded, not really knowing what to say to the stranger.

'Oh, where are my manners?' she gasped, 'I never introduced myself. I'm Shalia. My friends either call me 'Shar' or 'Lia''.

'My friends call me 'JJ'' JJ added, and the two quickly shook hands again.

'Gotta love the nicknames' Shalia pointed out, and JJ agreed.

The agent smiled, knowing that most of the BAU would like this girl. She knew that Shalia and Penelope would become friends almost instantly.

'So, what brings you to the Bureau? Is something wrong?'

Shalia responded by shaking her head, 'No, nothing's wrong'.

JJ became intrigued.

It was unusual for a stranger on the street to wish to contact the BAU if something wasn't wrong.

'I'm actually here on behalf of my parents. I believe that the BAU knows my father' Shalia explained.

'Um…okay' JJ nodded, wishing to seek more details.

'My father, Jason, used to work here? His name was Jason Gideon?'

JJ was surprised, 'I didn't know that Gideon had a daughter… I knew that he had a son…'

'Yeah, Stephen. Stephen is my twin brother' Shalia added.

'…Wow' was all that JJ could say.

'I can see that you're surprised by that' Shalia grinned, and JJ nodded.

'Um… so would you happen to know how I can contact my Dad? I heard he went AWOL and I wondered if perhaps he left a phone number or something?...' Shalia suggested.

'I'm sorry' JJ apologised, 'But when Agent Gideon left, yeah, he didn't leave us anything. We actually haven't heard from him at all'

'Oh'

'But… I do know that he left one of our other agents a letter. And maybe he left our unit chief an emergency number that we don't know about…' JJ piped.

Shalia's face turned from upset to delighted, once more.

'And besides…' JJ added, 'If all else fails, we just happen to have one of the best Technical Analysts. She might be able to help you out, too'

'Thankyou… if it's not too much trouble' Shalia was grateful.

'It can't hurt to ask' JJ assured her, and she linked hands with her new friend, 'Come on… I'll take you to meet the team'

Shalia was led past all the security doors by JJ's passes and badges, and soon they were both heading up to the BAU floor.

Shalia, wondering how much her life would change once she'd reach the top.

**What do you think so far? I already have some ideas about how this story will take place, but I would also like some feedback from you, can you please leave reviews? **

**Thanks for reading, and we'll see how this goes… the story is underway! **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	2. 2 Past

**This is a work of fiction; and no copywrite was intended. **

Chapter Two: Past

**Year: 1980**

Jason Gideon was driving his car around the streets of Washington, D.C; taking his laboured wife to the hospital.

'I wish the Braxton Hicks contractions were over' Melissa was rolling her eyes, 'I can't wait for the little one to be born… I'm really excited for this'

'Lissa, you do remember that's it's twins, right?' her husband of only a few years reminded her, 'It's not one little one. It's two little ones'.

'…whatever' Melissa rolled her eyes again.

Jason focused his attention back on driving.

'I think he's going to be a boy. The most perfect little boy ever' she exclaimed, just smiling down at her heavily pregnant stomach.

'What about the other one? It's twins, remember?' Jason repeated.

Melissa wasn't listening, 'I've waited forever for you, my little one' she told the baby bump.

Jason was getting annoyed. He knew that Melissa always dreamed of having children, but, he just figured that she'd treat all of the kids equally.

Melissa seemed to be choosing favourites, and the babies weren't even born yet!

Jason had a feeling that this wasn't going to end very well.

-** A WHILE LATER**

'It's a boy, congratulations' the doctor told the couple, cleaning up the newborn before wrapping it up into a towel.

'Can I please hold him?' Melissa asked, reaching out her arms.

'Of course… but only for a little while. The second baby will be coming any moment now'.

'…whatever' Melissa muttered until her breath.

Jason heard her, and was starting to question everything about his wife. This wasn't the Melissa he had fallen in love with.

He watched her as she cooed down at their new son.

'He's so gorgeous, he's so perfect. We shall call him, 'Stephen'' she exclaimed.

Now, Jason wasn't upset about the name.

He quite liked the name 'Stephen'. But, he was upset that Melissa seemed to be completely dismissive towards their second child.

It wasn't appropriate at all.

'Stephen Jason Gideon' Melissa stated firmly.

'Jason?' Jason questioned, 'I'm honoured…you're naming him after me?'

'No' Melissa rolled her eyes as if he had just asked a stupid question; 'I'm naming him after my grandfather Jason'.

'Oh… right' Jason nodded, feeling hurt.

'Melissa' the doctors gestured, 'The second baby is about to be born'

'Oh, great' Melissa rolled her eyes, and then she started wailing.

Stephen was taken out of her arms, and she grew upset that she wasn't holding him anymore. She watched as the doctors took him away.

She wailed again.

Half because of the pain. Half because she was pissed off.

Jason squeezed her hand, trying to be supportive, but Melissa was miserable towards this.

'Why did you do this to me?' she screamed at her husband, 'We have Stephen, we were going to be so happy together…'

Jason didn't know what to say. He was surprised by Melissa's attitude. He didn't expect her to be acting like this; acting like having a second child was a nightmare.

Sooner than later, the little girl made her way into the world.

4 and a half minutes after her brother was.

Melissa rolled her eyes again when she first saw the baby. She didn't want a daughter. She wanted Stephen. Her perfect son.

'Would you like to hold her?' the doctors asked Melissa after the baby girl was cleaned up.

Melissa changed the subject.

'Can you please give my little Stephen the very best attention? He's my new baby, and he really deserves it' she exclaimed.

Jason was heartbroken, so he decided to change the subject back.

'Isn't our daughter beautiful?' he questioned Melissa. But, she still wasn't listening.

'Where's my little Stephen? I'd like to hold him again, please' she instructed the doctors.

The doctors did as she asked, and passed Stephen back into his mother's arms.

'I love you more than anything' Melissa told her son.

Jason and the baby girl, feeling neglected and unloved.

Jason picked up his daughter and held her close.

'What shall we call her?' he asked his wife.

Melissa was unresponsive. But, after he got her attention by repeating his inquiry three times; she turned to look at him.

'… uh… whatever you like. I don't mind' she told her. Her focus quickly flashed back to her son, the child in her arms.

'…okay…' Jason nodded. But, he was still half-hearted.

Melissa might've said that '_she didn't mind' _but really she was saying, '_she didn't care'._

He quickly grabbed his wife's handbag and searched the contents.

The 'Baby Name' book.

'How about Shalia?' he asked, flipping the book to a random page, 'I like the sound of it. It's means charm and it reflects personal growth'

'…cool' Melissa nodded, before whispering, '…whatever' under her breath.

'Your name is Shalia' Jason told his baby girl and she responded happily by staring up at him. Then, she fell asleep in his arms.

'Stephen and Shalia' Jason commented, 'I like it, they're two beautiful children'.

He turned back to look at Melissa; to receive her opinion.

But, she was still ignoring him. All of her attention on their son.

'Stephen is so perfect isn't he?' she smiled and gave her baby a hug.

Jason had enough. He placed Shalia down into her special 'hospital bassinet', and then he turned to his rude wife.

'Melissa' he spoke firmly.

That got her attention.

He never called her by her full name. He always used to call her 'Lissa'.

'What, honey?' she asked him.

'I believe that you are giving more attention to our son, than our daughter, and I don't like it'.

'Oh, honey… we sorted this out, remember?' she lectured, 'You were going to get that job at the BAU, and I was going to stay home and take care of the baby'

'Babies' he reminded her. Emphasising the sound on the plural 'ES'.

'Well… I need to take care of my Stephen' Melissa rolled her eyes again, 'I might not be able to look after both of them…'

'Why are you doing this? Why are you pretending that Shalia doesn't even exist?'

'Shalia…what kind of name is that? I don't like that name' Melissa hissed.

'Her name is Shalia' Jason hissed back, 'You mentioned earlier that you ''didn't mind'' what I named her. So I chose her name'

'I don't like that name… we shall call her 'Melissa'' she replied, 'Melissa Jr. Her name will be Melissa Junior Jane Gideon. Jane, after my mother of course; and Melissa after me'.

'No' Jason rolled his own eyes, 'You don't get to name a child that you don't even care about! And you especially don't get to name that child after yourself! Her name is Shalia'

'You know what, Jason?' Melissa snapped, 'I don't like your attitude'

'And I don't like yours' he snapped back.

'I will take our baby back to my house is Pennsylvania. I'll raise him there and you can do whatever you like. I'm filing for divorce and I'm leaving you'

'And what about the children? I'm their father…'

'You can come and see Stephen whenever you like. You can still be his father… I just refuse to remain your wife'

'And what about Shalia?'

'….we can just give her up for adoption or something…' Melissa wasn't listening again. Her focus was back on the baby in her arms.

'Adoption? You want to give your daughter up?' he questioned her.

'… she's not my daughter… she's yours' Melissa sneered.

'And you want nothing to do with her life?'

'… I'm looking after Stephen now. Jason, I'm very busy at the moment and I am very tired'

Melissa dismissed him away.

'And you want nothing to do with her life?' Jason repeated.

'….No' she snapped, and dismissed him away again.

Jason gave up and held his hands up in a 'surrender' motion. He left his wife's room, and stood out in the hallway for a moment alone. His thoughts to himself.

…..**AS TIME WENT ON**

He and Melissa divorced. Which was okay, because, quite frankly; she was a heartless human being.

Stephen went to go live in Pennsylvania with his mother, and Shalia stayed with Jason.

Jason still planned to get that profiling position with David Rossi at the BAU.

If he got the job, though, he'd need help to take care of Shalia.

Which was why, Melissa's sister Josie moved to DC to help him out.

Josie had her own daughter, Margo; so she was great with kids. Taking care of Shalia was a breeze for her.

Jason was grateful for Josie's help, and Margo was a good cousin to his little girl.

Although Margo was a few years older than the bub; she and Shalia got along like sisters.

And, then Jason's career took off.

And we know what happened, he became quite the skilled profiler.

The life of his children, remained a mystery from the rest of his team.

**What do you expect from the next chapter? More into detail of the twin's childhood or should we just go straight back to the BAU and JJ introduces the team? It's your choice… and I'd really appreciate your feedback and reviews. Thanks. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	3. 3 Room

Chapter Three: Room

'Are you okay?' JJ asked Shalia, while they were going up the elevator.

'Yes, I'm fine…but, are you sure I won't be interrupting anything? I don't want to be a distraction to your work'

'Shar, it's fine. Today we were just doing paperwork anyway; and trust me, we could always use a distraction from our paperwork'

'Are you sure?' Shalia repeated.

JJ quickly profiled the behaviour traits of the woman. Shalia seemed shy; she was the sensitive type rather than brooding in confidence.

The agent decided to make it her intentions to be especially nice and friendly to Shalia; at least until she was more comfortable with her.

It was understandable. Not many people would just step off the street into the FBI building and become best friends with all the agents, in a split second anyway.

'Yeah, I'm absolutely sure' JJ was certain, and Shalia's worry nerves seemed to melt away.

JJ smiled at her, and nodded her head.

The elevator opened up to the floor of the BAU.

Shalia was soon surrounded by glass panels and doors. The 'Behavioural Analysis Unit' all painted over them, followed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation logo.

'Nice place' she commented to JJ.

'…yeah, I agree' JJ nodded.

JJ swiped her identification card once more; and she pushed the glass door open.

'Come on' she smiled at Shalia, and gestured her to follow.

The brunette nodded and trailed along.

The bullpen area was kind of deserted.

It was kind of quiet; if you ignored the pop music that was playing loudly on Derek Morgan's phone. The cell sat on his desk, unattended. Music at full blare.

'Where's Morgan…. Can that music get turned down?' JJ asked loudly, to anyone who could hear her.

'Got a problem, JJ? Live a little bit…' Morgan emerged from around a corner, with coffee steaming from the mug in his hands.

When Morgan noticed that JJ wasn't alone, he quickly placed his mug on his desk and he turned his iPhone onto mute.

He then spun back around to turn his attention to the blonde agent and the 'stranger'.

'Derek Morgan' Morgan held out his hand to introduce himself.

Shalia's hand met his in a handshake, 'Shalia Gideon' she told him.

He lightly kissed her hand in a greeting, before he let her go.

'Gideon?' Morgan repeated, gesturing towards JJ; confused.

'Yeah, I believe you knew my father' Shalia stated.

'You're Jason Gideon's daughter…' Morgan comprehended, and Shalia nodded at him.

'…Wow' he paused, 'I never knew Gideon had a daughter'

'I don't think anybody did' Shalia told him.

She smirked, Morgan had the same reaction as JJ. She wondered how many more people would have the same reaction.

Aaron Hotchner suddenly walked around the corner. He was carrying a few files in his arms.

'JJ, Morgan… who's this?' Hotch asked once he saw Shalia.

'Shalia Gideon, sir' she introduced herself.

'Did I hear that correctly? Gideon. You were Jason's daughter?'

'Yes, sir' Shalia told Hotch.

'Well, I'm the Unit Leader of the BAU. I'm Aaron Hotchner, please call me 'Hotch''.

The two quickly shook hands.

'Nice to meet you, Hotch' Shalia smiled, trying out the nickname.

'Likewise'

'I see you've already met JJ and Morgan' he added after the handshake ended.

'Observant sir' she joked, 'I can see why you're a profiler'

'Well, is there anything we can help you with? What brings you to the Bureau?'

JJ explained the situation for her.

'Shalia told me she wanted Gideon's contact information. We wondered if you had something. Or if Garcia could find something…'

Morgan interrupted her, 'Does Reid still have that letter that Gideon left?'

'…Not sure' JJ answered, with a shrug.

'Well, knowing Reid… he could probably recite the whole thing to you anyway' Morgan joked.

'Um… who's Reid?' Shalia questioned.

'Smartest guy on the planet' JJ told her, smiling, but then she paused and turned to Hotch. Aaron's face was deep in thought.

'Hotch?' she asked him, 'Something wrong?'

'Actually…I think I might have Gideon's mobile number somewhere in my office' he exclaimed.

'Really, Hotch?' Morgan asked.

'Yeah, he left Reid the note; but he also left Strauss a envelope of contact details. Jason passed them along with his resignation… and if I remember correctly, they're in my filing cabinet'

'Great' Shalia nodded.

'What are you guys talking about?' Rossi asked, inserting himself into the middle of the conversation.

'David Rossi' he introduced himself to the new girl.

'Pleased to meet you. I'm Shalia Gideon, Jason Gideon's daughter' and she quickly shook hands with the older agent.

Rossi instantly reminded her of her father. Literally, the only difference between the two was a moustache.

'Jason mentioned you once to me. Back in the 80s' Rossi explained.

'Really?' Shalia beamed, 'It's nice to know; that at least one person knows who I am'

'Mmm…you're all grown up now, I guess. You grew up well' Rossi complimented.

Shalia responded with a polite, shy thankyou.

'Well' Hotch announced, 'I'm going to go find those contact details'.

'Do you need help, Hotch?' JJ asked him.

'You don't mind?'

'Not at all' the blonde responded, and she and Hotch headed up to the unit leader's office.

No sooner were they gone, another team member positioned herself into the room.

'…What's going on, chocolate thunder?'

'Baby girl' Morgan smiled to Penelope, 'Come and meet Ms Shalia Gideon'

Garcia stepped in, to join the conversation as well.

'Shalia' Shalia introduced herself, for what felt like the millionth time.

'I'm Penelope Garcia… and I have a feeling that you and I are going to get along like best buddies'

Shalia was instantly surprised by Garcia's attitude. The technical analyst was all bubbly and happy, and kind-hearted.

She agreed with her; she did believe that they would become great friends.

'So, you're Gideon's daughter?' Penelope wanted to double-check.

'Yeah; I'm here because JJ and Hotch are searching for his contact details for me' Shalia pointed towards the offices at the top of the bullpen area.

If you followed a gaze up the bullpen steps and up into Hotch's office; you could see the two agents scrambling through the filing cabinet. Papers were already scattered on the carpet floor.

'Good at making a mess, aren't they?' Rossi joked sarcastically, watching JJ and Hotch at the distance.

'Yeah… maybe we should join them? Paperfight? Anyone?' Morgan added with a smirk.

Garcia slapped Morgan playfully on the arm and he flinched, pretending to be hurt.

Shalia just watched the events take place, and smiled her own secret smile. The team members all looked like a family. And they treated each other like family.

They all had their jokes, and they playfully teased each other. It looked like a really fun workplace.

A tiny little part of Shalia was jealous of the BAU. She was envious of their relationships. They all seemed to act like a real team.

For that, they were admirable in her eyes.

Appearing last, was Reid.

Finally, popping his head around the same corner which Morgan had emerged from.

He was the skilled multi-tasker at a first glance. He was reading a book with one hand, and drinking coffee from the other.

After he looked up from his _'Electron Data Patterns' _book, he slammed the paperback into his shoulder bag and joined the team.

'Reid, man… this is Gideon's daughter, Shalia' Morgan pointed out.

'Hi… Reid, is it?' she held out her hand to shake his.

Now, normally Reid wouldn't shake hands with a stranger.

It was his little quirky thing; but because the team seemed to trust this girl, and because it was his mentor's daughter… he thought nothing of it.

They shook hands.

'Nice to meet you' he told her, and she smiled back at him.

'So…' Reid shoved his hands into his pants pockets, 'If you're Gideon's daughter… what brings you here?'

'I needed his contact information' she shrugged her shoulders.

'But, if you're his daughter… shouldn't you already have his information?' Reid argued.

'…well…' she suddenly got quiet.

'Sorry' Reid shook his head at himself, a few strands of his hair slipping into his eyes.

He quickly brushed them away.

'You're right' Shalia told him, 'I should have his information'.

'…I didn't mean it like that' Reid bit his lip.

'That's okay... don't feel bad. I'm not upset' she told him, and the young genius immediately felt better.

Shalia quickly met eyes with the rest of the group. They were wondering why a daughter wouldn't have her own father's contact info.

'When he left you guys; he kind of left me too…' Shalia clarified.

'So, when Sarah Jacobs was killed?' Morgan questioned.

'Yeah' Shalia nodded her head, immediately recognising Sarah's name after Morgan had said it.

'If you don't mind my asking…' Rossi apologised, 'Can you tell us what happened? That was years ago…have you and your father really been estranged for that long?'

'7 years' Shalia nodded.

'…Wow'

'Is that everybody's catchphrase of the day?' Shalia rolled an eye sarcastically.

'Sorry' Morgan regretted. Shalia's hand quickly met his, and she squeezed his hand.

It quickly became their version of an apology. The squeeze symbolised that she wasn't upset.

He lightly kissed her hand again. Like he did before when he first greeted her.

'You're forward, aren't you Morgan?' Penelope teased him.

'…whatever' Morgan grumbled, and apologised for the pecked kiss.

Shalia assured him that it was okay, and he quickly let her go.

'So, seven years is a long time' Reid quickly changed the subject.

'Yeah… but it's kind of a long story' Shalia shrugged and brushed the subject matter aside.

'I think we have the time' Rossi told her, and gestured her further into the bullpen.

Pushing her up into the conference room, where they could all sit down and talk together.

'…if you've really got the time…' Shalia smiled, feeling defeated.

'Do you need me to put the coffee on?' Reid offered.

'Didn't you have a coffee just before?' Penelope asked him.

'Yeah… I need another one' Reid bit his lip again, pretending to be offended.

While Reid went to go make the beverages, everybody else gathered around the round table.

'Okay…' Shalia stated, 'Where do I begin?'.

**I apologise that this chapter took a while. Hope you enjoyed it, though. **

**Please remember to review, and thanks for reading.**

**-bittersweetgenius**


	4. 4 Mobiles and Memories

**Thanks for all your reviews! I was inspired by MaryEllen1960 and Lizzy2586 to 'go back to the BAU' and meet the team, and I'll continue on from that. **

Chapter Four: Mobiles and Memories

'Look at this… is this it?' JJ asked, showing Hotch the file that she had found.

Hotch stood beside her and examined her findings.

It was a file labelled 'Supervisory Special Agent, Jason Gideon: 1982 - 2007'

'Yeah this is it' Hotch smiled at his fellow agent; and together they spread the contents of the papers over a desk.

There were a few business documents; most were signed by Erin Strauss; the actual letter of resignation and such.

But, then there was a piece of paper that was personally signed by Jason, himself. This particular note was folded over a couple of times, and just lodged between the documents; probably hoping that it'd never be found easily.

_702-71297-583397_

_Aaron, please don't call me. I've already told the team my reasons for leaving. I left Spencer a note at the cabin; and if I profiled him correctly, he's probably found it by now. He's a smart kid. He could recite it all to you if you probably needed, but like I said… I can't stay at the Bureau. Please don't ask me to come back to work, because I won't. You'll manage without me – you're all a strong team and I'm exceptionally proud of you all. _

_P.S. give my best to Haley and Jack _

**_J. Gideon _**

'Hotch' JJ nudged against him, 'Are you okay?'

He seemed to be in a daydream or something; just letting the words from the note sink into his mind.

But the sound of his colleague's voice seemed to awaken him from this daze.

'Yeah… yeah, I'm fine'

JJ read the note herself, and realised what impact the words had on her boss.

_Give my best to Haley and Jack. _

'It just hit me how long Jason's been gone for' Hotch explained, assuring her that he was fine.

JJ nodded in turn; but it hit her as well.

Gideon had been gone for so long; that he didn't even know about Haley's death. And he talked about Reid as if he was still the 25 year old geeky kid (which he wasn't, he was now 33)

'Yeah, he's been gone for so long' JJ added in agreement.

She pointed at the numbers on the piece of paper, 'Do you think that he'll pick up if we call?'

'I honestly don't know, but… I think Shalia wants closure; so he'd better pick up'

'Do you think he left a note for Shalia, like he did for us? Or do you think he just left her?' JJ sighed.

'….he probably just left her'

'I can't imagine what she went through' JJ sighed again.

'It's not our place to talk about it' Hotch warned her politely, 'Come on… we'd better get back to the others'

'I might stay here for a moment' JJ told him, 'I'll clean up a bit in here'.

She gestured to the documented papers and files that were scattered all about.

'Are you sure?' he questioned.

She answered with a nod.

He nodded back at her, and then walked out the door of his office; leaving her behind.

She began to pick up the papers from the floor and re-file them back into the filing cabinet.

Hotch headed back to the conference room, and the round table, to meet the others.

Shalia was in the middle of telling a story, by the time he walked in.

'I was raised by Aunt Josie, pretty much. And my middle name is Josephine after her. Margo and I were really good friends. She became my rock, because we were only 4 years apart. I started high school when she was in her second last year, so she helped me out a lot and supported me. I only really saw Dad on weekends, and sometimes I'd only see him once a month, if he was busy on cases or something. I only really saw Mom and Stephen at Christmas times. But, Mom always treated me more like a niece than daughter. So, I'm grateful that Aunt Josie and Margo were there for me. Margo, especially. She was a sister to me, and since I never really got to hang out with Stephen; it was nice to have a sibling to grow up with, you know?'

'Shalia, can I ask you a question?' Morgan spoke timidly. He was cautious of upsetting the girl by forcing her to spill uncomfortable parts of her childhood.

'Sure' she shrugged.

'…okay' he began, 'Can you tell us what happened with Sarah Jacobs?'

'…sure' she nodded, half-heartedly.

'If it's too much, I'm sorry… you don't have to do anything you don't want to do' Morgan apologised.

'Nah, it's fine' she smiled and chuckled, 'It was just a long time ago… I might not remember much about it'

'Just tell me what you can remember, then' Morgan nodded and pressed her to continue.

Shalia smiled back and closed her eyes for a moment, just trying to remember.

It all happened years ago, after all.

Rossi quickly nudged beside Reid.

'Do you see how she trusts Morgan? I think there's going to be a spark between those two' Rossi whispered to the genius.

'I think Garcia's going to have some competition for 'baby-girl' status' Reid whispered back in agreement.

Shalia opened her eyes again, and swallowed before she spoke.

She answered Morgan's question, her eyes staring at him. And only him.

'Well, I was in college at the time, but I was still living with Josie. I was studying professional music, I used to have a real passion for it all through high school. Anyway, I remember that I saw Dad before he went out. He said he was meeting up with an old friend for dinner at his apartment in the city. I didn't think much of it, and I wished him a goodnight. I'm guessing that Sarah was the person he was meeting. She'd been mentioned occasionally. Anyway, about a week later; I heard that Sarah Jacobs was murdered, and I hadn't seen Dad since the night that I said 'goodbye'. Dad wouldn't answer his phone, my guess was that he had it turned off. He always turned his mobile off when he was on a case. He texted me a few days later. The message said that he was going to his mountain cabin to clear his head for a while. And that everybody had to give him a bit of space and time to think. A few days after that, I went to check on him, and he was gone. There wasn't a badge or a note or anything. So I went back home. Aunt Josie told me that I had some mail from him. A letter. All the letter said were five words, 'Start afresh, I love you'. I didn't know what to do after that. Mom called me, and said that she wanted me to go to Pennsylvania for a while. Guess that she and Stephen heard the news that Dad was missing. I went to be with them and I've lived there ever since. I studied up there, and I did what Dad told me. I started afresh and I gave myself a new life. I made up with Mom, I met new people, and I was pretty happy. But, there was always that nagging feeling in my body – that something was missing. I missed my Dad. I thought you'd have his contact details, so I came back down here to Quantico.'

'And here I am' she finished, her eyes still meeting with Morgan's.

'…I'm sorry for what you went through' Morgan told her, and he about to get up and embrace her, when a cough interrupted.

'Shalia, I thought I'd let you know; that I found that number' Hotch told her, after he had gotten her attention.

'Oh' she quickly jumped up from her chair and over to Hotch.

'Thankyou' she smiled gratefully.

'Did you call it? Did it work?' Reid asked Hotch, getting up from his chair too. The rest of the team followed.

'We don't know yet' Hotch told them.

'Do you need me to trace the dial?' Penelope enquired.

Hotch nodded, and she left the room.

She came back a moment later, with her laptop and a few plugs.

Shalia shakily accepted Rossi's mobile, and she dialled in the number.

She turned to Garcia before she hit the 'call button'.

Garcia nodded back at her, and the button was pushed.

Colour from all the different phone signals quickly covered Penelope's computer screen, as she hacked the connective wires.

Reid and Morgan, anxiously staring over her shoulder to gaze at the call tracing.

Rossi and Hotch anxiously staring at Shalia for the verdict.

JJ entered the room, and after witnessing the circumstances; she too stared at the phone caller. Shalia still shaky from both nerves and excitement.

But then she paused.

'It keeps cutting out' she gasped helplessly, frantically fiddling with the mobile's keypad.

'Garcia, do you have anything?' Rossi asked.

'That mobile phone appears to be turned off' she explained, 'But according to this data; it's a disposable mobile phone number'.

'What' Shalia murmured, 'Why would Dad have a disposable cell?'

'Probably so you couldn't track him' Reid told Shalia apologetically.

'So, what do I do now?' she asked. Her eyes met Morgan's again.

She then stared in turn at each of the other agents. Pleading them to advise her of what to do next.

She looked at Rossi, then Hotch, then Reid, then JJ, then Penelope and then finally back to Morgan.

Nobody knew what to say, which for a bunch of quick-thinking profilers; came as quite a shock to all of them.

**Thanks for reading this chapter; and please remember to review, because I really appreciate your comments. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	5. 5 Taking the Initiative

Chapter Five: Taking the Initiative

'Well, I guess that's it, then' Shalia sighed, passing Rossi's mobile back to him.

'Yeah' Rossi nodded, accepting the phone and slipping it into the pocket of his pants. He examined Shalia's face, her eyes glistening with a few tears.

And he could sense the 'empty' pain that she was feeling in her gut. He quickly patted the woman on the back, soothing her, while she quickly wept to herself about what had happened.

'What do we do, now?' JJ mouthed first to Hotch, and then to the rest of the team.

They all stood, speechless, shaking their heads. Not knowing what the next move was.

'…Damn' Morgan bit his lip, a thought suddenly popping into his head.

'What's up?' Reid questioned him.

'We still haven't done any of our files yet. I know for a fact that I have 5 documents sitting on my desk right now' Morgan remembered. He folded his arms across his chest and explained to everyone the dilemma.

'I have 5 as well' JJ added, raising her hand in the air and agreeing with Morgan.

'I have some software that I have to update on the main web system' Penelope piped in as well.

'Yeah, I've got six files' Rossi supplemented.

'And the director wanted this all completed by the end of the day' Hotch reminded them all. He was suddenly worried that they wouldn't complete their filing grind in time.

Nobody wanted to get into trouble.

Shalia stared at all of the agents, and wiped her eyes with a tissue that was kept in the pocket of her denim jeans.

'Don't let me hold you up' she told them, waving them away, 'If you all have files to do; don't let me be in the way'.

JJ's eyes pierced into Shalia's own.

They had already had this conversation. Shalia didn't want to interrupt any of their FBI work; and JJ had promised that she wouldn't be any trouble to them.

'Hey, don't do that' the blonde whispered to her new friend, 'Shalia, we're going to help you find Gideon, no matter what'.

'You're busy, and besides… this isn't really important' Shalia brushed her point aside, trying to take the attention away from herself. She dismissed the team again with a wave of her arm.

She didn't want to be a bother to them.

'Okay' Morgan spoke loudly, 'What do we do?'

'Well… our files have to be completed, otherwise the units will all become unstuck' Rossi pointed out; folding his arms around his chest, and copying Morgan's motions.

'Okay, this is what we'll do' Hotch began to give out orders, 'Garcia. You are going to go work out your software. We'll contact you if we need anything'.

'Yes, sir' Penelope saluted, and then she turned away; heading towards her computer 'lair'.

'And…' Hotch quickly gazed over the rest of his team, 'We are going to all work on our files'.

They all were about to nod, and head back to the bullpen; when Morgan began to protest.

'And what about Shalia, Hotch?' he questioned, 'She came to us for help… Are we seriously going to just throw her out of here?'

Before Hotch could even answer, Shalia stepped in front.

'I didn't want to be in your way. You guys need to work and I understand that' she told them, 'I'll just leave and we can figure this out another day'.

She spun on her heel, knocking a diamond stud off one of her sneakers. She ignored the small sequin, and she continued to stride for the door. Morgan grabbed her by one of her arms and pulled her back.

'Don't do that' he pleaded, 'We're going to help you'.

'Why?' she shrugged away his grasp, 'You guys have real cases to solve. This is just something for my general curiosity or whatever…. Derek, it's okay. It's fine'.

'You do want to find your Dad, though, right?' Morgan asked her, still refusing to let her walk any further past him.

Meanwhile, Rossi had squeezed himself between Reid and JJ.

'We should go' he whispered to them both, 'Give them all some privacy to figure this all out'.

'Agreed' Reid nodded. He quickly looked at JJ who nodded as well.

The three of them went to go work on their files, and as a result; they left Hotch, Morgan and Shalia alone in private.

'I do want to find my Dad' Shalia stated, 'But, it's not exactly on the top-of-the-list of FBI priority right now… and I don't want it to be. I'll just go back to Pennsylvania for a while and I'll come back some other day'.

Morgan cut her off, but placing two of his fingers over her lips to hush her.

'…I'm not about to let you give up on this, not especially after you've come all this way' he told her. And then he turned to his boss.

'Hotch, I'm going to drop her off to my place' he explained, 'She can stay with me for a while'.

Her eyebrows rose at the comment of Morgan's hospitality, but she let him continue.

'I'll then come back, and I'll work on my files. Then, at another time… in maybe a week or so, when we don't have a case… we can help Shalia find Gideon'.

'Good plan' Hotch told him approvingly, 'We can do that'.

Morgan then turned to Shalia, 'Is that okay?'.

She puffed a bit of air out of her mouth and took a deep breath.

'Derek, are you sure? I don't want to be anybody's burden'.

'Stop saying that' he teased her, 'You're not a burden. If anything, I'd say that you're one of us now'.

That particular comment made her smile. Earlier, she had realised that she was envious of how close the team were. How they acted like a family.

She was grateful that Morgan was now treating her like she was a part of the team, now. She felt lucky that he was doing this for her… and it gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling.

It felt nice to be appreciated like this.

'… thankyou' she told him.

'Okay' Morgan nodded, '…. So… I'll take you home'.

He reached for her hand, and she politely accepted it. He began to lead her out the door.

'Morgan' Hotch stopped him.

'Hmmm?'

'Don't worry about your files' Hotch assured him, with a surprising grin, 'I'll just get Reid to do yours for you'

'…thanks' Morgan grinned. He loved it when other people had to do his work for him.

'Take care of her, make her feel at ease' Hotch gestured towards the brunette.

Morgan nodded and smiled.

'I will' he promised, and then he squeezed Shalia's hand and continued to lead her out the door.

Soon, the two were back in the parking lot.

Soon, after that, they arrived in a place that Shalia had to learn to call 'home'.

**Sorry for the wait on this one too. The weekdays can get so busy, so I apologise for that. Please remember to review, and thanks for reading. **

**-bittersweetgenius **


	6. 6 Guardian

Chapter Six: Guardian

The clock ticked back and forth; the numbers in roman numerals.

The item was a gift from Penelope, from a few years ago. She had once joked that Morgan had brawn rather than brains; and he would never understand a clock's time if it was in symbols rather than numbers.

Morgan loved her little quirks and comments, so of course he accepted the gag. Fooled her wrong. And the clock had been hanging in his living room ever since.

It was one of the first things Shalia noted when she entered his front door.

'I like your apartment' she commented.

'Thanks'.

He led her through the hallway; past the living room, and they sat down at his dining table.

'Really, it's a nice place' she complimented for the second time; gazing around at his furniture, that just seemed to match.

'Thanks' he repeated, 'I've lived here for a few years now'.

'And I noticed that the place next door was up for rent recently…' she added, pointing back out the front door, 'I bet, that it didn't take very long to sell'.

'Yeah, it only took a fortnight' he explained. He sat down across from her, and leant his feet onto one of the other opposing dining room chairs.

This was his favourite comfortable position. It always calmed him down.

If he was honest, he didn't exactly like his new neighbours. There was reason, though.

Shalia giggled to herself at his laziness, but then she noticed his half-heartened attitude.

She raised an eyebrow and kinked her head to one side. Wondering why he looked so down.

'My ex-girlfriend used to live in the apartment next door. After we broke up; she moved away' he confessed.

'I'm sorry' she apologised, politely.

Morgan shrugged; in a way that told her not to be sorry.

'She and I weren't together for very long. She just, really wanted a kind of 'fling'. She was a nurse and worked as many hours at the hospital as I do at the bureau'.

'What was her name?'

'Savannah' Morgan sighed, 'And anyway… after we realised that we weren't going to be a good pair, she got a job transfer. She now lives in Atlanta or something'.

'Don't like your new neighbours?'

'They're okay, but they're not the same as Savannah, you know?'

'I understand' Shalia nodded and the two shared a smile.

She knew where he was coming from. Over the years, she'd had the same experience with the guys that she'd dated.

'So…' he changed the subject, 'It's pretty much lunchtime. Are you hungry?'

'Sure' she nodded.

'How about Indian? Butter chicken and spice soups?'

'Love it' she agreed, and he went to his takeaway menu drawer which he kept in the kitchen.

He whipped out a menu, showed her a few of his favourite items; and then they ordered.

Their meal was delivered to their front door within an hour.

The two had their first quarrel once the food came. The fight was over who should pay for the bill and the tips.

Morgan wanted to be a good host, so he offered first.

Shalia wanted to thank him for letting her stay with him, so she offered too.

Neither of them wanted to split the payment; but since Shalia hated causing arguments, she just let Morgan pay.

She figured she'd pay him back some other way, another time.

The two smirked at each other as they brought the food inside. They were already great friends and they'd only known each other for a few hours.

Their relationship… or connection… or whatever you wanted to label it; pretty much sky-rocketed after that.

After their meal, they cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher.

Morgan showed her a hallway cupboard which contained heaps of spare clothes that she could wear for the next few days or whatever.

Morgan's sisters apparently hated luggage, so whenever they came to visit him; they had clothes which they kept in his hallway cupboard already waiting for them. Morgan figured Desiree and Sarah wouldn't really mind if Shalia wore them anyway.

And then after that, the two 'housemates' crashed on the living room in front of the TV.

They ended up just watching reruns of soap comedies; and they laughed in unison at the stupid shopping commercials that were always on repeat on the network channels.

Shalia ended up falling asleep, snuggled into his shoulder.

Derek didn't even notice that he had his arm around her; until after he'd fallen asleep too.

There was something that felt right about being with her; therefore, he wasn't bothered to move.

**A While Later: **

Shalia began to stir when she heard the chime of the clock on the wall.

She blinked a few times as she tried to read the time through half-closed eyes.

_10:30pm. _

She sat up, yawned, and grinned to herself. She realised that Morgan had left the TV running.

It was still the same 'Amaze-vacuum-cleaner' that they'd seen hours ago.

'Hmm' she smiled when she could hear the slight snore coming from her nap partner.

The guy looked so adorable when he was sleeping. Okay, the word is not adorable.

He looked _sexy_ when he was sleeping.

But, there was no way that Shalia was going to admit that to herself. She'd just met him hours ago; it was too early to be thinking about how much she was attracted to him.

'Shar' he muttered, as he began to stir too.

'Hey' she greeted him.

'What time is it?'

She glanced at the clock again, just to double check.

'It's 10:35'

He sat up to meet with her.

He rubbed an eye with the palm of his hand.

'We fell asleep…' he mumbled, 'I might just go have a shower for a minute'

'Sure, Derek' she nodded.

He stood up from the sofa, and readjusted his shirt which had slipped up his stomach while he was asleep. Shalia bit her lip softly, glad it was night time so he couldn't see her blushing.

She was so smitten by his torso, all of his toned abs. She couldn't believe that she was just asleep beside this gorgeous guy. Snuggled beside this gorgeous guy.

And it wasn't just his body that made her admire him. It was his heart too. He showed generosity, kindness, and care.

He yawned slightly, which just made her blush even harder.

'I'll be back… I'll only be a few minutes, I promise' and he turned to walk away.

The second he was gone, she missed him.

It wasn't like her, to do something this desperate and impulsive. It wasn't like her to all of a sudden be majorly crushing on somebody that she didn't even know that well.

But, he was a good guy.

It wouldn't do any harm that she liked him.

**I got a few PM's about how Shalia should be infatuated with a member of the team. Morgan was chosen, and to be honest; I really like this pairing. I think they could have a really cute relationship. But, it's not going to be, all about them. It's about the team as a family and the little 'family' moments that they have with each other. **

**Thankyou for reading, and I'd really appreciate your feedback. I'd love to know what you think should happen next. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	7. 7 Final Words

Chapter Seven: Final Words

The bullpen was deserted. Except for one person.

Reid rubbed his eyes for what felt like the millionth time – he was so tired.

Not only had Morgan dumped his workload on him; so had JJ. Apparently, Will and Henry desperately needed her home.

His five files, had magically turned into fifteen. Click. Just like that.

Of course, Hotch asked him if he could handle all this work by himself; and Rossi had offered to stay around to help out.

But, Reid hated disappointing people, and the team were his family; so of course – he said he was fine .The offers to help were appreciated but unnecessary, the team was dismissed a while ago.

For Reid, it was one hour each file. It was 15 hours of work that he had to do.

He'd already worked for 12 hours. And he still had three files to go; the poor guy.

The clock in the bullpen had just clicked to 11pm.

He yawned one last time, bit his lip, rolled an eye, sighed, and grabbed another document.

All he wanted to do was to go home, but the FBI directors needed these case files by the next morning; so he figured he'd better just get the work done now.

The empty room was suddenly interrupted by the tapping sound of a person's knock.

Reid was grateful for the distraction. He needed one.

'Hey' Shalia greeted, after zipping Morgan's credential card through the glass door security alarm.

She entered the bullpen with a smile on her face; carrying two cups of takeaway coffee on a cardboard tray.

She walked over to the lonely genius sitting at his desk, and offered him one of the cups.

'I brought you a beverage' she told him, 'Morgan said that you like cappuccinos'

'Thankyou' Reid accepted the drink, 'But you didn't have to'

'I wanted to' she shrugged, 'white chocolate dusting on top… just how you like it'.

Reid took a sip and smiled. He preferred white chocolate dusting on his cappuccinos to milk chocolate.

'Yeah, Morgan told me' Shalia smirked, 'I hope you don't mind…'

Reid nodded, 'Thankyou, I really appreciate it'. He placed his cup on his desk next to his files.

She had a sip from her own cup, and laid hers on the desk as well.

'So…' she began, 'How are you going? I heard you got everybody's workload dumped on you. I'm sorry to hear that'.

'It's not that bad…' he shrugged. His energy levels were perked up a bit, now that he had coffee.

'It would take the average person 30 hours to complete these files' he explained, 'For me it only takes 15'.

Shalia nodded, 'JJ and Morgan told me earlier that you were the smartest guy on the planet'.

'I can read 20,000 words per minute and I have an eidetic memory'

'….I'm impressed' she complimented, 'The team's lucky to have you'.

'Well, thankyou for saying that'.

They each had more sips of their beverages.

'How's it going with Morgan?' Reid questioned.

He pushed a few of the files away from him, he wanted a break – and it wasn't helping that they were still in his line of sight. He wanted to ignore them for a while.

'He's forward and a bit of a womaniser, but he's a nice person' Shalia smiled, and she quickly bit her lip.

The sudden image of Morgan's _sexy_ body was still fresh in her mind; and she didn't want Reid to see her blush about it.

She knew the two guys were best friends. Reid would probably be the first to figure out that she had a major crush on Derek.

She shook her head at herself to remove the thought. Her mind flashed back to reality.

'Anyway…' she changed the subject, 'Do you know what case you're going to get tomorrow?'

'Nah' Reid shook his head, 'But tomorrow isn't exactly a priority right now for me… I just want to get through tonight'.

He glared at the three files that he still had yet to complete.

'Right' she nodded, 'I'll leave you to it'.

And she turned to leave.

'Wait… don't go' he implored, 'I appreciate you, being here… and talking to me'.

'Really? You don't mind if I stay for a bit?'

'Not at all' Reid told her. He pointed to a desk chair that was at Morgan's desk. Motioning for her to sit down.

She nodded, wheeled the chair closer to her new friend; and sat down beside him.

They continued to sip their beverages.

'White chocolate dusting…' she sighed, 'I agree. It's much better than milk chocolate'.

'Something we have in common?' Reid shrugged.

Shalia nodded in agreement.

'Hey listen…' he opened a desk drawer and quickly rummaged through the contents, 'I wanted to show you something that I found earlier today'.

'….Okay?' Shalia glanced over and watched as he searched through the desk.

He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. It was a note, dated 7 years ago. Back in 2007.

_Spencer, _

_I knew it would be you who came to the cabin to check on me. You must be frightened and I apologise for that. I never meant to cause you any pain. But then, I also never envisioned writing this letter. I've searched for a satisfactory explanation for what I'm doing, but all I've come up with is a profiler's means to have solid footing, and I just don't think I do anymore. The world confuses me. The cruelty. Indifference. Tragedy. When my dear friend Sarah was murdered, it tore a hole in me. And I truly believed the way to handle the pain, was to get back to our work as quickly as possible; get on to helping somebody else. I thought I could handle Sarah's murder, work through it. Then, the very first case we had after, was on a college campus. You see, I met Sarah in college. On a campus, just like that one, 31 years ago. Campuses are supposed to be places of life and excitement. They're supposed to be about the future. Figuring out who you are, who you're going to be. They're supposed to be about dreams, not nightmares. About hope. I really don't understand the world any more. All homicide scenes are tragic, but when the victim is someone young; their life ripped away before they've even had a chance to live, it's devastating. In this line of work, I was afraid I would lose the ability to trust, but I've realised I can't really look at anyone, without seeing their death. And as bad as losing faith in humanity seems, losing your faith in happy endings is much worse. How many victims have we seen? How many crime scenes? Hundreds? A thousand? Pictures of families, victims, both alive and dead. I was always able to stay objective, to stay at arm's length, but now... all I see is Sarah in them. Nathan Tubbs was easy, but there was a time in my career when I would have asked the question I should have asked. "Was he too easy?". The biggest trap for a profiler to fall into, is pride. Forgetting that, for all your skills; profiling is just a tool. It was like you could physically feel the mood change on the campus. Kids, they're so resilient. They trust and believe in a way I remember, but can't reach anymore. Like a very old picture. You remember the circumstances, but the feelings, the emotions, they're just out of your grasp. They believed in us, believed in me. The way Sarah believed in me. And, as with Sarah, I feel that I led them right to the slaughter. What was I even doing there? How many times have I told you that a profiler cannot do the job if the mind is unfocused, if anything is going on in your personal life that would cloud your judgement? My mind has never been more unfocused than it was on that campus. Did I let a lion loose amongst babies? Was my judgement clouded by a need to make someone pay for Sarah's death? Two more dead. Was it a price that needed to be paid? Is death ever worth it? Was the world always this grey? Is it only in the movies that it's black and white? Is it just an illusion? I used to know. I used to understand my place, my direction, where I was headed. Profiling requires belief, belief in the profile, belief in yourself. After Sarah, I no longer trust myself at home. After Tubbs, I no longer trust myself in the field. And without that, I have nothing. And that was the last domino. The death of that girl, Hotch being suspended over something that was my fault. I said, at the beginning of this letter, that I knew it would be you to come up here. I'm sorry the explanation couldn't be better, Spencer. And I'm sorry that it doesn't make more sense. But I've already told you, I just don't understand any of it anymore. I guess I'm just looking for it again, for the belief that I had back in college. The belief that I had when I first met Sarah, and it all seemed so right. The belief in happy endings. _

_**J. Gideon**_

Shalia's eyes were in tears, 'Dad left you this'.

'Yeah' Reid nodded and sighed, 'I can quote it word for word'.

Shalia nodded, and folded the letter up to give it back to him.

It was still in the same envelope that he'd discovered at the cabin, all the years earlier.

He accepted it and placed it carefully back into the drawer.

'I'm sorry for what you went through' she whispered to him.

'You too'

She dried a lone tear that had fallen from her eye.

'Well…' she exhaled, 'I guess I better get home to Morgan'.

'Yeah, where is he?' Reid asked.

'He was having a shower. But, I told him I wanted to come and check up on you, so he gave me his car keys and his credentials'.

'He's taking good care of you'

'Yeah, he is… and so are you. Thankyou for finding that letter. Morgan mentioned that Dad left you a note. So, thanks for letting me read it'.

'You're welcome' Reid shrugged, 'But, for what's its worth… I'm glad there's someone in the world who knows how much it hurt when Gideon left. I'm glad I met you'.

'Likewise' she smiled, and she quickly gave him a hug.

Reid made her feel like she was a part of the family, just like Morgan did.

Reid was, almost family. Her father was his mentor, and they had treated each other like father-and-son.

'Anyway…' Reid told her after their clasp was broken, 'I better finish these last three files'.

He grabbed the folders and laid them on his desk again.

'Thanks for the coffee' he added, throwing his empty cup into a nearby rubbish bin.

'You're welcome. I'll see you later'

She nodded and turned to leave, throwing her own cup into the rubbish.

'Have a good night, Spencer' she added, before she headed towards the door.

She started swinging Morgan's car keys around in her fingers. The credentials in her hand, also waiting to be used.

'You too' Reid called after her, and then she was gone.

And, then he was left alone with his files again.

Wishing, that he still had her company.

**Thanks for reading, and please leave your comments and reviews to tell me what you think, or what you think you happen next. I really appreciate it. **

**-bittersweetgenius **

**By the way, I didn't make up the letter – it's from Season Three: Episode 1 and 2. These episodes being called 'Doubt' and 'In Name and Blood/In Birth and Death'. The rest of this chapter was my own. **


	8. 8 Cornflakes

Chapter Eight: Cornflakes

'You're back!' Morgan called from the kitchen, after he heard the front door open.

'Yeah' Shalia closed the door behind her and locked it for the night.

She placed his car keys on a hook next to the front door, and then she went to follow his voice to seek his whereabouts.

He was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a mug of milk.

A few drops of the liquid dripped down his chin when he waved at her; and he wiped his mouth, unaware that she was staring and blushing.

'Here's your credentials' she told him, to change the subject.

'Thanks' he placed his mug down and took his identification card from her.

He placed the ID in a nearby drawer which contained his other 'work' belongings that were kept hidden from the public eye. Then he returned to his seat.

Meanwhile, she got herself a glass of water and sat in the seat beside him.

'Did you find your way home okay?' he asked.

'Yeah' she nodded, 'I love your SUV. And the GPS came in handy'.

'Yeah, the features in that car are pretty safe, and useful too.' he commented, 'Anyway, is Reid okay?'.

'He is, because I brought him coffee' she laughed and took a sip of her water.

'He's not pissed that JJ and I left him our files to do?' Morgan raised an eyebrow.

She shook her head, 'He seems fine. He's a good worker, and you're really lucky to have him'.

'Well that's good' Morgan nodded, 'I'll check in with him tomorrow and I'll thank him'.

He placed his empty mug into the sink, and then yawned; glancing at the clock.

'I'd better go to bed' he realised, 'Is there anything you need, before you go to bed too?'.

'No thanks, Derek, I'm fine' she assured him with a shrug.

'Okay – well, I'm in my bedroom and you're in the spare room I showed you earlier. You'll find whatever you need around the house'

She nodded.

'And if you need me for anything, come find me. It's okay if you wake me up, I won't mind' he added.

'Thanks' she nodded again.

Morgan wished her a goodnight, and then he turned and headed for his bedroom.

He closed his door behind him, and started snoring as soon as his head hit the pillows.

Shalia placed her glass into the sink with his empty mug; and she went to prepare herself for bed as well.

She brushed her teeth with a spare toothbrush she found in the medicine cabinet; along with a brand new bottle of mouthwash.

She rinsed and flossed, and then she opened the hall cupboard.

She chose some items, and changed into a set of clean pyjamas that belonged to Morgan's sister, Desiree.

It was just some pink sweatpants, and a navy t-shirt that had a smiley face printed on the front.

Then she turned off all the lights in the house, and she headed for her bedroom. Tiptoeing along the floor as quietly as possible because she didn't want to disturb her new housemate.

She crashed on the spare bed, and fell asleep instantly.

The last thought she had, before she drifted off; was how lucky she was to have met the BAU.

**THE NEXT MORNING **

She awoke to the ringing sound of Morgan's cell phone, followed by the sound of his dashing feet to run to the living room to answer it.

She guessed that he'd forgotten to place it in his bedroom.

Then, she could hear his whispers; as he tried to answer the call as quietly as he could.

Curious by all the commotion, Shalia tangled herself out of her blankets; and followed his voice.

He was pacing back and forth, across the living room.

'JJ, I understand. Yeah, we'll figure it out. Just after I eat breakfast, and after I tell Shalia what is happening' he said into the phone.

At the mention of her name, Shalia stood in the doorway of the living room; and tapped her toes.

Waiting patiently for the phone call to end, so she could be notified on what was happening.

Morgan saw her, and quickly waved to greet her good morning. His iPhone was still held to his ear.

'Okay, thanks JJ' he said into the phone, 'Yeah, I'll be there soon. See ya' and then he hung up.

'Morning' Shalia smirked, when he looked her in the eyes.

'Good morning' he said back, 'How did you sleep?'

'Pretty well, thankyou' she nodded, 'Do you usually get phone calls at 6am?'.

'Only if it's a case' he shrugged, and they left the living room to go to the kitchen.

He began to brew some instant espresso from his coffee machine, and he opened up his pantry to examine his breakfast cereals.

'You hungry? What would you like?' he asked politely, taking a few cereals out of the pantry and placing them onto the kitchen bench.

'I don't mind. Whatever you pick' she shrugged, and he nodded.

He chose some cornflakes and poured them into two separate bowls. He added some milk and then offered the breakfast to her.

'Thanks' she told him, as she took a seat at the kitchen table. He joined her moments later.

They began to eat their cereal and coffee.

'I would be more formal and make you a proper breakfast with eggs and bacon' he apologised, 'but I just got called to work for a case. We have to meet at the Bureau in like 30 minutes'.

'Okay' she told him, in-between mouthfuls.

'So, the team might be away for a while' he added, 'The case is in California'.

'What would you like me to do until you come back?' she asked politely.

She didn't really want to be in a foreign city by herself for too long.

'Penelope is our technical analyst, so she rarely goes with us on cases' Morgan explained, 'You can probably spend your time with her for a while'.

'Cool' she nodded, and she accepted his empty cereal bowl. She began to wash all of the breakfast dishes for him.

'You don't have to clean up' he told her, as he searched through his drawers for his work things. Like his ID and his gun.

'It's fine- I can do it. I really don't mind' she assured him.

'If you're sure….'

'Yeah, it's fine' she repeated. Her elbows were soon covered in soap suds.

Morgan nodded and smiled at her. He was grateful that she was willing to be helpful around the house.

She didn't look him back in the eyes, because she knew she'd blush. She loved the fact that he was admiring her.

'Anyway' he changed the subject, 'I'm leaving in like 15 minutes. I can take you with me to see Garcia if you'd like'.

'I'd love that' and she quickly drained the kitchen sink of dirty water. She stacked the clean plates and bowls in a dish rack to the side of the sink; and she wiped her wet hands over her t-shirt.

'Better get changed' he advised, and they both went to get themselves prepared for the day.

He put on his usual clothes, and Shalia went back to the hall cupboard to get her own new outfit.

After their teeth were brushed, and they were all ready; they came back to meet at the front door.

They both complimented each other's outfits; and then they grabbed their cell phones and the car keys and headed out the door.

Morgan was a gentlemen and opened the passenger side of the SUV, for her to step inside.

She thanked him, and soon; he was at his own side of the car.

They started the engine with a soft chug, and drove away. Listening to the radio as they went.

Morgan was on edge, and he began to feel a bit nervous. Not even the pop music station could make him feel better.

He was always a tad unsure about a new case; as he had a habit of worrying about the outcome of different situations.

He didn't know what to fear more; the unknown of what would happen in California; or of what his 'baby girl' and his housemate would talk about while he was gone.

He could sense that they'd probably end up talking about him; and he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

**Thanks for reading, and please remember to review. I really appreciate your feedback. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	9. 9 Work and Play

Chapter Nine: Work and Play

'Knock Knock' Shalia rattled the door of Garcia's lair, waiting patiently in the corridor of the BAU.

'Sweets' Penelope smiled excitedly, as she opened the door and let the woman inside, 'How are you, Shar?'

'I'm fine, thanks Garcia' she answered, as she closed the door behind her and gazed at all the different computer screens.

Some screens were covered in gold screensavers, all bearing the FBI logo as their centre, and other screens showed numerous files and folders.

Writing buzzed along the screens in code which Shalia didn't understand. The blonde smirked at her, as she watched Shalia attempt to understand the numbers and the symbols.

Shalia squinted her eyes and gave up on trying to read the words, she grabbed the spare desk chair and sat down comfortably at the screens.

Penelope took her usual chair besides Shalia.

At the far corner of the desks, sat a lonesome takeaway coffee cup. Freshly warm and left untouched.

'Is this yours?' Shalia asked, gesturing towards the beverage.

Penelope shook her head, 'Nah sweetness, it's yours' she smirked.

Shalia grabbed the cup confused, and she fiddled with the plastic lid. After examining the contents, it all made sense.

Cappuccino, with white chocolate dusting.

Reid.

'Spencer did this?' she wondered aloud.

'Bullseye' Garcia smirked, 'Genius boy decided to repay some sort of favour to you or something. He didn't really explain it to me, but he brought the coffee and told me to give it to you'.

Shalia took a sip of the beverage and breathed in the sweet chocolate, 'Thanks'.

'So' Penelope changed the subject, 'How was your night with Morgan?'

'Pretty good, until we got the call to come here… hey, I hope you don't mind spending time with me while the team's away. Morgan said it'd be alright'

The analyst quickly met her with a hug.

'You're my friend now' Garcia reminded her, 'I really don't mind at all'.

After the hug broke, she started typing away at the computer screens.

An IM message had just popped up in the corner.

**Message from **Aaron Hotchner 'BOSS MAN': _Garcia, the Police Department contacted JJ and we were just told that a suspect was put into custody at California. Rossi's going to interview him when we get there. I'd like you to sent us some information on the suspect. Send anything you have ASAP. Thanks, Hotch. _

'Busy work that you've got here' Shalia noted.

'It's crazy, but I love it' Garcia spoke without even looking at her typing fingers.

With the click of the enter key, files of information popped up on the screen.

On impulse, Shalia turned away.

'I'm probably not allowed to be enclosed with FBI information, am I?' she asked.

Garcia reached for her shoulder and turned her back around, 'You can look'.

'Isn't it illegal for me to see the information?' she asked nervously.

'I checked your file yesterday' Penelope said with a laugh, 'I wanted to make sure that your records were clear. Which they are. We trust you now, so it doesn't hurt if you see a few details'.

Shalia smiled back, it felt nice that she was allowed to see some restricted information. That special feeling of being important.

She felt something being with the team, that she had never felt being at home. Something that felt warm and fuzzy. Comforting.

Probably just the feeling that the team wouldn't abandon her, like Gideon did 7 years ago.

'There is one thing I'd like to know though…' Penelope politely changed the subject, 'What was the incident that happened when you were 16? Something about a courthouse? You were a witness to something…'

Shalia sighed, 'Do I have to tell you what happened? I've kind of moved on from that…'

'You don't have to tell me… just, if you ever want to. I'd like to know what happened'.

Garcia turned her head back to her screens and she dismissed the subject.

Shalia remained silent, just thinking to herself. She didn't really want to talk about the courthouse or the incident.

As she said, she had moved on.

She figured she might tell Morgan or Reid when she was more open and comfortable with them, but, she wasn't ready yet.

'What's this current case about?' she sipped her coffee once more. It calmed her uncertainty down and she felt better almost instantly.

'Mysterious kidnappings and torturous deaths in California' the technical analyst squirmed as she spoke, 'The victim's cause of death are burns to their chests made with some blowtorch'.

'Ooh, ouch' Shalia squirmed too after reading the information on the computers. But, hey - it was better than talking about things that happened in the past.

Another message popped up in the corner with a vibrating kind of 'ding' noise.

**Message from **Derek Morgan 'Chocolate Thunder': _Baby girl, I've sent you a list of stores in California, places that sell lighters and other items that create fire. Can you try to track down the specific brand of blowtorch that the UnSub used? Reid says the brand is 'Harglow' or something. I'm not sure. Try to work out where the UnSub could have bought this. Send me what you've got, angel. And P.S. Hotch are Rossi are still waiting for the information on the suspects. __Don't work too hard, and tell Shalia that I say hi. xoDerek_

'Morgan says 'Hi'' Garcia noted, and continued to type away.

Shalia examined Morgan's message, smiled; and then observed Penelope as she continued to work.

The analyst opened up the team contacts and started hacking information for Rossi's suspect.

And then, she began sorting through the California stores information.

She pressed a few buttons and sent all of the records to the team.

'Just like that… easy' Shalia complimented on how quickly she could work.

'Thanks' Garcia swivelled back around in her chair to face her friend.

'So…' she teased and pressed for details, 'What did you do to Reid that made him buy you coffee?'.

Shalia grinned at the empty coffee cup that was sitting in the trash can, and looked back up at the blonde in response.

'I heard that Reid got everybody's file work dumped on him. I wanted to see how he was… so I brought him coffee last night. Cappuccinos just how he liked them' she admitted.

'Aww…' Garcia nudged her playfully on the shoulder, 'That was nice of you. If I'm honest, I think Morgan and JJ don't give Reid enough credit for his efforts'.

'That's what I said!'

The two met in a high five in agreement.

'So…' Penelope teased again, '...you and Reid talked?'

Shalia nodded, 'Yeah. We just talked about Dad, pretty much. Reid showed me the letter that Dad left addressed to him'.

'Mmm… you should've seen him when he found that letter. He looked so eaten up by the whole situation. I don't know.. Reid's dad left him when he was a kid. I guess he looked up to Gideon for a father figure'.

Shalia sighed, 'What about the rest of the team? How did they cope?'

'Hotch was dealing with a divorce at the time. Rossi wasn't on the team yet, and our other agent Emily was on transfer, going to the State department. Reid, Morgan and JJ were pretty much the only ones who had time to worry about missing Gideon. They all got through it'.

'If I'm honest, I wish I met you all sooner' Shalia admitted, 'I could have used some friends to help me get through it, too'

Penelope quickly hugged her. 'You've got us now, you're one of us'

'I like people saying that. I like being one of the team' Shalia's cheek turned into a gush pink shade.

'What are friends for?'

Garcia's intercom rang and interrupted the conversation.

'Derek' she greeted him, when she beeped the intercom button with the tip of a pencil.

'Just an update, baby girls' Morgan told them, 'Hotch is working through the profile now, it's coming along well. Rossi thinks that the suspect in custody knows our real UnSub. We'll hit you back with more info soon, but I think we'll solve this one pretty quickly'.

'How much longer will you have to stay in California?' Shalia questioned, 'Do you know yet?'

'Three days maybe, maybe two' he shrugged, 'The travel distance is terrible- even in the Jet. Super long and we got fatigue jetlag on the ride in. I'll let you know, okay?'.

'Okay' the two woman answered at the same time.

Morgan ended the call after saying quick goodbyes.

'You know what I think?' Penelope teased.

'What?'

'I think you've got a major crush on Morgan…'

'What' Shalia protested, but she knew that she'd blown it. Her bit lip and the rose colour of her cheeks were giving it away.

'I'm not a profiler, but I can tell' Garcia smirked, 'You've got it bad'.

'Not as bad as you…' Shalia defended, 'You call him 'chocolate thunder' on your contacts, and he calls you his 'baby girl''.

'Didn't you notice before? He said 'baby girls'. He's referring to you as well, and I think he likes you'.

Shalia bit her lip hard, but reflexed after the sting. She quickly soothed the pain away with a tongue, and blushed harder.

'Okay… maybe I have a little crush on him' she admitted, 'But, he's really nice to me'.

Penelope raised an eyebrow, 'What makes Morgan different? Rossi and Hotch are nice to know. You and Reid seem to be best friends. Why are you crushing on Derek?'

Shalia buried her head in her hands in shyness; wanting this conversation to be over.

'It's okay' Penelope calmed her, 'I'll drop it, I promise. I was honestly just teasing, I didn't mean anything by it'.

'Thankyou' Shalia smiled gratefully, and the colour faded from her cheeks.

'Can I just tell you something…?'

'Sure' Shalia nodded.

'Morgan keeps his thoughts to himself. Just don't force him to open up too quickly, and remember that he's a womaniser. Don't freak out if he distances himself for a while'.

'Don't get too ahead of yourself though' Shalia chuckled, 'I'm not going out with him yet'.

'I don't know…' Garcia smirked, 'You never know what might happen when the team comes back'.

**Thanks for reading, and please review because I really appreciate your comments. **

**And sorry about the long wait on this one too. I've been battling a cold and 'writer's block' disease, but I think it's back on track now. **

**-bittersweetgenius **


	10. 10 JJ's Boys

Chapter Ten: JJ's Boys

Shalia was stirring pasta on the stove in Morgan's kitchen, and making some mince for dinner.

A few days had passed since the team had left for California; but now the case was over and they were on their way home.

The case ended in a good result; which was just a bonus to the good week.

Penelope sat at Morgan's dining room table, just watching Shalia as she hustled around making the meal.

'You're such a good cook. Did you make dinner much when you were a kid?' she asked Shalia.

'Not much, but Aunt Josie taught me a few things. Margo was a better cook than I was!'

She laughed, as she began to chop some fresh herbs and add them to her mince mixture.

'Well… I cannot cook for the life of me' Garcia stated, 'You might need to teach me some things…'

'Can you cook at all?' Shalia teased her.

'Unless peppermint gum is classified as cooking. Or heating microwave meals'

'Come over here and help me, then' Shalia politely waved the tech over.

Together, they added tomato paste and kidney beans to the meat and they sprinkled parmesan over some drained pasta.

They grabbed forks and scooped off a taste of the meal that they had prepared.

'Yum' Shalia slurped a strand of spaghetti into her mouth, 'I score it 10 out of 10'

'We make a good team' Penelope added and the two woman exchanged high-fives.

They threw their used 'taste test' forks into the kitchen sink and then grabbed some plates to dish out the dinner.

'Morgan will be home soon' Garcia checked the time on her mobile.

'….shit…' Shalia bit her tongue and began working at a faster speed.

Penelope observed – it was like watching _Masterchef_. Shalia was racing around and serving the food as if Morgan was a judge about to critique her or something.

'Sharlie, honey…' Garcia grabbed her arm and pulled her back, 'Calm down'.

'I've never made dinner for Derek before' she exclaimed, almost out of breath.

Penelope realised what she meant. It was like a girl was making dinner for her new boyfriend, as their first date.

'Aww… it's Morgan and Shalia's first official dinner date' Penelope began to clap her hands.

'What' Shalia blushed and protested, 'It's not a date'

'Then, why are you freaking out like a sky diver with a broken parachute?'

The brunette stopped and paused, 'I really don't know', and her cheeks flushed.

She covered her face in her hands, and stepped out of the kitchen; crumpled herself at the dining room table, as she slumped in a chair.

'Aww, Sharlie' Garcia followed her and patted her on the back.

'Why are humans like this?' Shalia questioned aloud, 'Why do we turn into psycho freaks when we want to impress the people we are attracted to?'

'You should ask Reid' Garcia sarcastically rolled an eye, and chuckled.

'…maybe I will' Shalia sighed.

Suddenly, the sound of the front door slamming shut, echoed around the house.

'Derek?' Penelope called.

'Nah, the next best thing' JJ waved as she waltzed herself into the kitchen.

'What are you doing here?' Shalia got up from the dining chair and she greeted the agent with a hug.

'Morgan, Spence, Rossi and Hotch are still at the Bureau' JJ explained, 'I didn't have any paperwork to finish up, so I left them to it'

'Oh' Shalia sighed. Knowing that it meant that Derek would probably be late coming home.

'Yeah, sorry about that' JJ apologized, 'Morgan told me to come and tell you, that he wouldn't make it home for dinner'.

'Shame' Penelope shrugged glumly, 'Shalia here is a real whiz in the kitchen'

'Really?' JJ was impressed, 'What did you make?'

Shalia grabbed a few of the dinner plates and held them up for display.

'Spaghetti and Mince. Nothing special'

'Cool' JJ smiled, 'Um… how would you feel about bringing that back to my place?'.

'What do you mean?'

'Will and Henry were staying up to wait for me, and they haven't had dinner yet' JJ explained, 'Would you mind coming over to my place so that we can all share?'

'Really? I'll get to meet your family?' Shalia smiled, as she started to scrap the mince and the pasta into little takeaway bowls (that were left over from the Indian takeaway).

'Yeah' JJ nodded, 'My husband Will and our little boy Henry'

'That sounds great' Shalia nodded, and she turned to Penelope, 'Can you come too, Garcia?'

'I'd better get home, but thanks anyway' Garcia shook her head and waved, 'Give a hug to little Henry for me!'

'Okay' Shalia promised, and after grabbing the takeaway containers, the three set off.

They yelled 'goodbye' and 'see you tomorrow' to each other, and then they hopped in their vehicles.

Garcia headed back to her own place in her red car, while Shalia bumped a ride with JJ in an SUV.

After a short drive, JJ pulled up in her driveway and turned off the engine.

They helped carrying the meal inside together.

The two shuffled into the house, talking along the way, and they placed the containers on the kitchen bench.

'Mummy!' Henry screamed, and ran into the kitchen from the hallway.

'Hey, little man' JJ picked him up in her arms and hugged the five year old, kissing his hair.

'Hello Mummy' he whispered, and JJ just cuddled him even tighter.

Shalia just watched the scene unfold, standing back politely, and she thought that JJ looked like such a wonderful parent.

The way she embraced her son and they greeted each other. It was super cute.

'Jay, are you home?' a male voice called; and the person, that Shalia assumed was 'Will', followed Henry into the kitchen.

Whilst carrying Henry, JJ quickly pecked her husband on the cheek.

'Honey, this is Shalia Gideon. The person that's staying with Morgan for a while' JJ introduced.

Will nodded, and held out his hand.

'Nice to meet you, Shalia'

'Likewise, William?' and the two shook hands.

'Please, call me 'Will'' Will chuckled in his New Orleans accent.

It had been a few years since he had moved to Quantico, but the accent was still recognizable.

'Okay' Shalia nodded.

'She made dinner' JJ added, pointing towards the kitchen table.

'It smells amazing by the way' Will complimented.

'Thankyou' Shalia smiled.

'Yay! Yummy food' Henry cheered, then wiggling in JJ's arms, so he could be put back down on the floor.

'Ready for dinner, sweetie?' JJ asked, as she began to open the containers, and Henry walked to a drawer and grabbed a kid fork and a little plate.

'Will? Shalia? Are you two hungry?' JJ offered as well.

They both nodded, and JJ began to serve the pasta and mince.

After dinner was over, Will took Henry to go have a bath; and Shalia and JJ began to wash and stack the dirty dishes from the spaghetti.

Henry came back a while later, running into the kitchen, wearing pyjamas.

'Say goodnight, Mummy?' he told JJ, and pulled her down to his level, wanting a kiss from her.

JJ bent down and cuddled him, planting a peck to his cheek.

'Do you want someone to read you a story and take you to bed?' she asked him.

Henry thought about it for a moment, staring at the floor while he was thinking.

He looked up shyly at the two women.

'Can Ms Sharlie take me to bed?' he asked shyly.

JJ looked up at Shalia, 'Would you mind?'

'Not at all' she assured her and then turned to the little boy, 'I can take you to bed, Henry'.

JJ mouthed a 'thankyou' as Henry grabbed Shalia's hand, and began to lead her away.

Shalia played along and she let Henry drag her to his room.

Henry ran to his bed and jumped on it, grabbing a book from his bedside table.

'Mummy always reads me this one' he smiled, hugging the book and showing Shalia.

'Okay' Shalia nodded, and she went to sit down beside him.

Henry snuggled himself into his blankets while Shalia examined the book.

_Bedtime for Baby Star. _

She laid down beside Henry and she began to read to him.

_Once there was a baby star, who lived up near the sun. And every night at bedtime, that baby star wanted to have some fun. He would shine, and shine, and fall, and shoot, and twinkle oh so bright. He said 'Mommy, I'll run away if you make me say goodnight'. And then his Mommy kissed him on his sparkly nose and said, 'No matter where you go, no matter where you are, no matter how big you grow, and even if you stray far. I'll love you forever, because you'll always be my baby star'. _

Henry was blinking his eyes and drifting away, by the time Shalia had finished.

'Good night' he whispered, before he fell asleep and began to purr in a little kid snore.

'Good night, little one' Shalia whispered back to him, before she crept out of his room and closed the bedroom door behind her.

Henry's light snore could still be heard through the door and Shalia smiled to herself, tiptoeing away.

'How did you go?' JJ asked, when Shalia met her in the living room, and joined her on the sofa.

'Henry is a gorgeous little boy. He's fast asleep'

'Thankyou for putting him down' JJ softly smiled.

'You're welcome' Shalia grinned back.

'Hey, listen' JJ changed the subject, 'Will talked to Reid before on the phone. He said that it's Rossi's birthday in a few days and the team is planning a surprise party. Just an evening at Garcia's house, and the team wanted to know if you would like to come'

Shalia raised an eyebrow cautiously, 'Is it okay if I come?'.

'Of course it is' JJ chuckled, 'You're one of us now'.

Shalia grinned, thinking that her life couldn't get much better.

She was invited to their 'family' birthday parties now? Tucking their kids into bed and cooking dinner with them?

She was feeling closer to the team with every day that went by. Feeling like she was learning to love them all, like a true family would.

And she wouldn't change a thing.

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you're enjoying this. Please review because I really appreciate comments and feedback. **

**I'm not crediting the storybook as my own - 'Bedtime for Baby Star' is read to Henry in Season 7, Episode 7 (Episode Title: 'No Place Like Home') **

-bittersweetgenius


	11. 11 At the Boss's House

Chapter Eleven: At the Boss's House

After Morgan had finished work, he picked Shalia up from the Jareau-LaMontagne household and the two went to a little café for late night coffees.

After an Irish latte for the FBI agent, and a cappuccino (with white chocolate dusting, of course) for Shalia; they headed home and crashed in their beds.

Instead of waking up to the droning beeps of Morgan's mobile; Shalia instead woke up the next morning to the smell of freshly cooked waffles.

'What did I do to deserve this, Derek?' she teased when she found him in the kitchen.

'Good morning' he greeted, 'This is just an apology for missing dinner last night. I heard that you cooked for me and so I wanted to make it up to you'.

He shook up a can of whipped cream in his hand, and squirted a squiggle onto the breakfast plates.

There were three waffles each, slices of strawberries, decorated with a drizzle of honey and the squiggle of the cream.

'Thankyou' Shalia admired the food, her mouth watering from it's deliciousness.

She noticed a string of cream dripping down the front of his t-shirt, so she used a finger to scoop it off him. She licked the cream of her finger in a flirty manner, chuckling at the same time.

Morgan smirked back at her and whispered a 'thanks'.

He held up one of the plates to her and added, 'Breakfast is served'.

They sat at the dining room table, cutting up the waffles and eating.

'Got another case today?' she asked, between bites.

He licked honey off his bottom lip; then looked at her and shrugged.

'I got some files to do first' he explained, 'But, then after that – we'll probably have another'.

He quickly flipped around in his chair to grab the can of whipped cream off the kitchen bench; and he pressed the cap so that his strawberries were half covered in the cream.

'Do you mind?' she asked politely, holding up her plate and requesting more cream as well.

Morgan nodded and squirted some more on her plate at her request; but he also dabbed some cream on his finger and quickly wiped it on her nose.

'Hey' she protested, as the drop of cream dripped down her face.

'Payback for wiping the cream off my shirt before' he teased, smug. While she grabbed a serviette and wiped her face.

'Shouldn't waste cream' she sighed, taking another mouthful of waffle.

_What a waste my life was, before I met you. _

Morgan suddenly jumped up and took his empty plate to the sink.

'We have to leave in 10 minutes' he exclaimed, looking at his watch.

'Oh okay' she stammered, quickly swallowing her last bite of waffle, and following him to the kitchen with her own empty plate.

They quickly rinsed their dishes, and then went to their rooms to get changed for the day.

They surfaced back into the kitchen, and grabbed their mobiles and Morgan's SUV keys.

Morgan opened the front door for her, and she led herself out. He locked the front door; jumped into the car with her and they started heading towards the BAU.

Morgan parked his car in his usual space, and beeped his credentials into a scanner so that they could enter the building.

They rode the elevator to the BAU floor, and strode side by side into the bullpen.

Reid was sitting at his desk, Rossi and Garcia standing by him.

The three of them were all staring up into Hotch's office, and watching their boss pace frantically around the room, talking into his mobile phone.

'What's up?' Morgan greeted, walking over to them.

'Something's up with Hotch. He's been pacing around for like half an hour' Penelope told them.

'Is he okay?' Shalia wondered.

'We're not sure…' Reid expressed, 'I went to go check on him before, and he told me to go back to my desk and do my paperwork'.

'Yeah' Rossi added, 'We don't know what's wrong with him and he won't let us help'.

'He says that we need to focus on our work and not on his personal business' Garcia piped.

Morgan took a deep breath, staring helplessly.

'So, what do we do?'

Nobody knew what to do.

'We need to work and do what Hotch says' Rossi reminded them.

'We can't' Morgan protested, 'We work us a team. We won't be able to get anything done while Hotch is like this'

'Yeah, I need Hotch to sign my documents and send them away' Reid opened up his desk filing cabinet, and grabbed a few folders.

He began flipping the last few pages of them, and showing how the 'Unit Chief' signature line was empty on each of the files.

'So, what do we do?' Garcia repeated.

Everybody thought for a moment.

'What if I talk to him?' Shalia suggested, speaking up.

'Really?' everybody stared at her.

'Why not?' Shalia shrugged, 'He's your boss, so you have to do what he says and get your files done. But, I'm just a friend – I could try to go and talk to him. And if he needs me to do anything, then I can help him'.

'That could work' Reid nodded.

'You going to be okay?' Rossi asked her.

'I'll be fine' Shalia assured them, 'You can all do your work, and I can go help Hotch'.

They all nodded and watched as she bravely walked up to the top office. (Sometimes Hotch wasn't a nice person when he was flustered)

He was still pacing around, talking into his phone.

'How much more traffic are you going to be in? You really think you're hours away from getting home? No, I can't leave – I'm up to my head in work. Someone's got to be with him…' he was pleading into the mobile.

'Excuse me, Hotch?' Shalia knocked on the doorframe, 'Is everything alright?'

Hotch sighed, ignoring her for a moment.

'I'll see. I'll talk later' he said into the phone before hanging up.

He slammed his mobile onto his desk, and wiped his hands over his face; before turning around and smiling weakly at Shalia.

'You look stressed' she noted.

'Yeah, sorry about that' he apologised, worry and frustration could be seen in his eyes, 'My son's sick, and my girlfriend is struggling to get home'

'Is there anything I can do?' she offered.

'That's nice of you to offer, Shalia, but I don't know…' he sighed, 'I just want somebody to be with him and I'm up to my elbows in work. The directors are on my back… and they won't let me leave…'

'I could go and take care of him, until your girlfriend comes home' she offered.

'…Really? Are you sure?'

Shalia nodded, 'The team need you here, and the directors need the work done. But, I'm not doing anything, so I can go and look after your son'.

'…Really? Are you sure?' he repeated.

'I'll be fine' she assured him, just wanting him to lose all his worry.

He sighed again, 'Shalia, thankyou. It shouldn't be for too long'.

She nodded, 'What would you like me to do?'.

'My son, Jack, will be waiting for you at home with his school nurse. You can relieve her from her duties and she can go back to the school. Jack's got an allergy to penicillin so you need to be careful about what medications you give him. There should be some paracetamol powder in the medicine cabinet and if he needs some butter menthol you can give him some of those too. My girlfriend Beth should be home by the afternoon'.

He went to his office desk and opened up the top drawer, pulling out a key on a black lanyard.

'Spare key to get into my building. I'll text you my address and I'll call you every hour for an update'.

Shalia accepted the key, 'Understood. Thankyou…. Garcia put all of the team's phone numbers into my contact details on my mobile, so we should be all good with everything'.

'Thankyou' Hotch told her, 'You're really helping me out here'.

'Anytime, Hotch. Seriously' she nodded and gave him a smile.

He unlocked another drawer with a pin code, and tossed her a set of car keys.

'You now, you have your own SUV for the day' he told her.

'Thankyou' she repeated, and she walked out of the office.

Reid and Morgan were sitting at their desks in the bullpen, doing their paperwork.

Derek looked up from his work and gave a quick wink to his housemate.

'I've got to go take care of Hotch's son, Jack' she told him, 'Don't wait up for me'.

'Okay – but be home by midnight' he joked in a fatherly tone.

'See ya, Shalia' Reid waved her goodbye, and Morgan winked at her again.

After waving back to both the men; Shalia headed out the door and went back down the elevator.

She headed down a particular hallway towards the FBI garage, where some of the spare SUV's were kept.

She unlocked one of them with Hotch's car keys, and climbed inside.

A piece of paper was taped to the steering wheel: a list of instructions before driving.

Just rules, like you're weren't allowed to use the siren unless it was for emergencies.

You had to wear a seat belt, unless you were on duty.

You weren't allowed to cut through red lights unless you had the siren on.

Just things like that.

Shalia smiled to herself, and started the engine – cruising out of the garage and down the street.

Her phone beeped with a text message.

_Sharlie! Hotch wanted me 2 text u because he was busy. Open the attached file for directions to his house. Drive safe girly, with luv from Penelopexoxo _

Shalia pulled over to the side of the road and opened the attachment on her phone.

Following the directions on the attachment, she drove herself to an apartment building.

After locking the car, she went inside and began following the house numbers around the building.

She unlocked Hotch's front door, and let herself inside.

An 8 year old boy was sleeping on the couch, an ice compressed tea towel over his forehead.

A woman was kneeling beside him and comforting him gently by patting his stomach.

'Excuse me' Shalia whispered, 'My name is Shalia. Aaron Hotchner sent me to take care of Jack'.

'Oh, hello' the woman greeted, 'I'm Cassandra. I'm one of the nurses who work at Jack's school'.

'Nice to meet you. How is Jack? Is he okay?'

Cassandra stood up from the floor and folded her arms across her chest, just smiling at the peaceful boy.

'He's got a temperature and a fever, and I also think he's getting tonsillitis or some kind of throat infection'

'Oh, the poor kid' Shalia sighed, sympathetically.

'Yeah' Cassandra nodded, 'but he should be okay for a while'

'I've put my phone number on Aaron's fridge, feel free to call me if you need anything and I'll come back' she added.

'Thank you, Cassandra'.

The nurse nodded, and said goodbye; walking out the door.

Shalia kneeled beside Jack and just watched him sleep, observing him.

He blinked a few times and woke up from his slumber.

'Dad?' he whispered, 'Is Dad here yet?'

'No, honey' Shalia told him, 'But he said that a woman called Beth would be here soon to take care of you'.

'What's your name?' Jack rubbed and eye, and then coughed into a tissue.

'Shalia. I'm a friend of your Dads, at the BAU'

'Cool' Jack said, in between splutters.

'Is there anything I can get for you, Jack?' she offered.

'A cup of water, please' he asked her politely.

She nodded, and went over to the kitchen. She searched in a few cupboards and she brought the boy a plastic cup filled with icy water.

He swallowed it as smoothly as he could, not wanting to hurt his throat.

Then, he spluttered a 'thankyou' and passed the cup back to Shalia.

He laid back down on the couch, squeezing his eyes shut, just trying to get back to sleep.

He drifted off almost instantly, and Shalia sat beside him, just comforting him.

She never left his side.

The day was over, when keys could be heard jangling in the front door.

A brunette rushed inside, throwing her handbag on the floor beside the door panel.

Shalia got up from the couch, and shared a brief smile with the woman.

'I'm Beth, Aaron's girlfriend' she introduced herself, 'You must be Shalia. Thanks for taking care of Jack'.

Shalia nodded and whispered, 'My pleasure. I was happy to do it'.

'Jack, I'm home, sweetie' Beth whispered to the boy, who stirred at the sound of her voice.

'Beth' he whispered in a croaky voice. He reached up and the two shared an embrace.

'I'm home' she repeated, holding him tighter, 'Do you need anything, honey?'

'I just want to go back to sleep' he replied dryly, a tear falling from his eyes.

Beth and Shalia shared glances. Jack just wanted all of his pain to be over; and they just wanted to help him.

'Go have a bath or a shower, sweetie. I'll make you a snack and you can just fall asleep' Beth promised.

'No food that's really hard and crunchy' Jack told her, standing up, 'my mouth hurts'.

'Okay' Beth nodded, and she watched as Jack stumbled off down the hallway.

'I live in New York and I was driving here. There was so much traffic on the freeway' Beth apologized, 'Thanks again for taking care of him'.

'You're welcome' Shalia nodded, 'Anytime'.

'Well, I better go make Jack something to eat. Would you like anything?' Beth offered, turning towards the kitchen.

'No thanks' Shalia shrugged, 'I need to get home to Derek'. She took a few steps towards the door.

'Oh' Beth nodded, 'You're the one who's living with Morgan for a while'

'Yeah, that's me'.

'Well… Shalia, have a good night, and tell Morgan that I say hi. I hope to you see you all another time'.

'Thankyou Beth' Shalia waved, and she headed out the front door.

Her mobile rang when she got back to her SUV. It was Aaron.

'Hotch? It's Shalia' she answered the phone.

'Beth just called me to say that she was home' Hotch explained, 'I wanted to see how you went'.

'Jack's a polite kid, well mannered. I really hope he gets better, the poor little guy'

'Cassandra rang me earlier too. Told me that Jack has tonsillitis, and we may need to have his tonsils taken out'

'Well, I hope Jack gets better, Hotch'

'Thankyou for today, looking after him. I'm sorry it took so much of your time'

'I was happy to take care of him; so it's fine' she assured him.

'Well, thankyou anyway. You've really helped Beth and I out today'

'You're welcome'

'And… will we be seeing you at Rossi's birthday on the weekend?'

'Yeah, you will be' she smiled.

'Well, the team's all looking forward to it. Dave doesn't really want to get any older, but it should be a nice way to end this week'

'It should be great' Shalia smiled.

'Well, I've got to go. You can get home to Morgan. He left the bullpen about an hour ago'

'Okay, bye Hotch'

'See you' and they both hung up the phones at the same time.

Shalia jumped into her SUV and headed for home.

She was yawning when she walked through the front door, and after eating a muesli bar; she crashed on the couch.

Morgan came in to greet her, and ended up placing a blanket over her to keep her warm. Leaving her undisturbed.

She whispered a soft 'thanks' with half closed eyes, and she fell asleep almost instantly.

The last thing she heard was Morgan whispering, 'Sweet dreams, see you in the morning'.

And she dreamt about what the next day might bring.

**Sorry for the length on this one; but I just wanted to skip ahead through another day. Thanks for reading, and please review because I appreciate your feedback and ideas. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	12. 12 Mansion

Chapter Twelve: Mansion

The next day, however, brought another case for the team.

Dallas, Texas.

4 dead bodies were found in the desert, all in the time-span of just one week.

A cross of genders and racial lines.

All died from being branded and from one stab wound which pierced the stomach.

No fingerprints. No identification. No DNA.

The UnSub left his name and signature behind; in the dust beside his victims.

A bull's horn was always left behind at the scene, and sketched into the ground with the horn; were the words 'Bull Rider'.

The media had given him that name.

With added stress from the media outbursts, and Dallas' desperate pleads for help; the team set off.

Meanwhile in Quantico, Shalia and Penelope helped as best they could with researching the profile.

At the same time, they were thinking of the best way to brighten the spirits of their team.

They needed some happiness. Something to look forward to, once they were home again.

The answer came to Garcia almost instantly.

Rossi's Dinner.

Why have a little dinner birthday party? When it could be a blown out FBI extravaganza?

Nobody would ever suspect it. Not even Dave.

So, that became the plan.

The women had until the following Saturday night to organize the place.

All of the old plans changed.

Instead of a little 8 person get-together at Penelope's house; it became a huge night at Dave's mansion.

With the whole Bureau invited and coming.

While the team was away in Dallas, Shalia and Penelope broke into Rossi's office and borrowed his spare house key from one of his drawers.

They went to his house, and let themselves in.

They got 'party proof' coverings all over the floors, to prevent wine and other stained spills.

A personal DJ booth was set up in one corner of the living room, with a keypad attached.

It was a bit like YouTube, except with better speakers and audio.

You typed into the keypad what song you fancied, and the song would play.

The blonde and the brunette sang to some tunes as they danced around, and hung banners and balloons all over the place.

Decorations filled every room of the house – a large silver banner even hanging in the bathroom.

Their fingers stung painfully from holding the cap on the helium gas; about 2 hundred balloons were filled by the end. The gas bottle empty.

A large chocolate mud cake was ordered.

_Happy Birthday, David Rossi_ and the BAU logo piped onto it in fluffy white cream.

A large banquet, foods both healthy and sugar-filled.

Rossi's freeze-room was shelfed with icy alcoholic drinks.

'What more can we do?' Garcia smiled, gazing at their handy work.

'Nothing' Shalia wiped her brow, 'The place looks great'.

'Rossi's going to get such a surprise'.

That he did.

The team were heading home from Dallas, in the afternoon of that Saturday.

Rossi was a bit down; hating working on his birthday. So, he was slumped in one of the Jet's sofas and was keeping to himself.

The rest of the team had already heard all of the party plans, they'd been keeping it a secret from Rossi; the whole time they were away.

When they landed back in Quantico, Dave had no idea that the whole Bureau was just bubbling around his house, waiting for him to arrive home and wish him a 'happy birthday'.

When he waved goodbye to his friends, he had no idea that the team had raced ahead to try and beat him home before he made it.

Success. And everything was going according to plan.

Rossi just thought he was going home to get changed before he'd head to Garcia's.

But, when he saw all the cars in his driveway, he knew something had changed.

He opened his front door, and there it was.

Surprise!

People crowded everywhere, all blowing whistles and smiling their happiest grins.

In the centre of it all, was his team.

Shalia and Penelope looking smug; the plan was pulled off.

Rossi quickly hugged them both.

'We had to do something while you were all away' Garcia laughed.

'I just… didn't see any of this coming… thankyou' he squeezed them tighter.

A gob smacked look still sat on Rossi's lips, but to come home to a party; was the best way to end the week.

Everybody started mingling.

Drinks were being sipped.

Food was being gobbled.

Cream from the chocolate cake was being sneakingly licked off.

Streamers from the ceiling, falling to the ground, and scattering everywhere as it tore.

But nobody cared.

It was a great night, just music, dancing and food.

Celebration.

Everybody became obsessed with the YouTube DJ booth.

One second the tune was _Party Rock Anthem._

The next second it was _The Sound of Music_.

The next second it was _The Nutbush_, and everybody shuffled around the house.

Then, they'd be back to mingling.

Drinking their drinks and nibbling chips.

It was one of those nights that you could only dream about. But, this wasn't a dream.

It was reality and it was awesome.

It was just free fun and everybody was getting along. You couldn't ask for anything better.

Shalia bustled her way through the crowd, needing some fresh air from the groove.

She escaped up some stairs to the far end of the second story.

She stood on the balcony, gazing over the edge into Rossi's backyard.

The wind whipping her hair around her, softly and peaceful.

She sighed a deep breath; this was all she wanted.

A moment to herself.

She shrugged her shirt further down her stomach, suddenly feeling the cold.

The emptiness.

An ache, that wasn't really sorrow. It was just that feeling – of isolation.

She didn't know if she was craving being alone, or if she was just missing something.

A tear fell from her eye, dried in the breeze, and all that was left was a moist spot on her cheek.

She sighed another deep breath, and thought about her life.

Just letting the wind, sweep her emotions away. Feeling nothing, for a while.

She flashed back to reality when she heard the voice behind her.

'Hey, you okay?' Reid asked her.

'Yeah' she nodded, and it wasn't really a lie. But, it kind of was.

'Mind if I join you?'

She just nodded, not saying anything.

Reid stood beside her; his arms resting on the balcony bar like hers was.

Cool metal under skin.

'Something is on your mind' Reid told her, 'I can tell'.

She sighed another deep breath, still remaining silent.

'If there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here for you' he spoke, his voice in a whisper.

'I could use a talk' she confessed.

'Well' Reid stated, 'Feel free to talk away. About anything at all'.

He stared at her, just intently listening.

'Just something on my mind' she added, 'Something that Garcia told me the other day'.

'…okay' his eyes softly pushed her to continue.

'Penelope searched my file the other day. She came across something from a long time ago. Now, that I think about it. It still haunts me'.

'What was it?' Reid asked politely.

She stared back at him, sympathetically. Her lip bit.

He knew what she was thinking.

'Shalia, I wouldn't do anything to upset one of my best friends' he told her honestly, 'I'd like you to tell me what's on your mind. And if you don't want to, then, that's okay too'.

'I just want to know that you'll keep this information to yourself' she choked in a mumble, 'It's kind of my story'.

'Your story?'

'My Dad used to tell me that every member of the FBI and every other person in the world has some depressing story from their past. Something that haunts them, a past memory, and it won't ever go away'.

'Well, I guess that's true' he nodded in agreement, 'And this is your story?'.

'Yeah. There was a court case, that I had to attend when I was 16. I don't usually like to talk about it. But, it's kind of made me who I am today'.

He stopped her, 'Then we don't have to talk about it if I don't want to'.

You couldn't take back words once they were said.

They both knew that.

He wasn't about to force her to tell him something; that was obviously painful for her.

She smiled, her lips in a thin line.

'Reid, since I've come here - you've become one of my best friends. I can trust you'.

'Okay' he nodded. He looked deep into her eyes, just a symbol of the developed trust.

She nodded firmly back at him, and she took another deep breath.

'When I was 16, my cousin Margo was about 20. She didn't live at home with Aunt Josie and me, but she still came to see us all the time'.

'Okay'

'Anyway, I had just turned 16, and Margo wanted to know what to get me for a birthday present. And, I told her that I wanted to go to a college party'.

'A college party? Like one of those dorm parties with lots of people?' Reid interpreted.

'Yeah' she nodded, 'So, she refused but I somehow managed to convince her to take me to one. I promised I'd stay safe and what-not and it was all going to be good. At least, I thought so…'

'Okay'

'I was having a great time on this night. Then, one of the guys, came over to me and we started dancing and he kissed me'

'Was he drunk?' Reid wanted to know.

'He'd had one or two. But, he wasn't drunk' she assured him, 'And… anyway, he told me that he wanted me to meet with him after the party was over. Behind this abandoned warehouse'.

'And? What happened after that?'

'Well, Margo told me not to go. But, he was this attractive guy who was flirting with me. And, I was 16. I didn't think anything bad was going to happen'.

'Something happened? Didn't it?'

Shalia took another deep breath before she continued, gasping in the cold air.

A tear fell from her eye again; but after it had dried, she pretending it hadn't fallen.

'I went to meet with him. And we kissed again, for like 10 minutes straight. Then, he grabbed me and pulled me inside the warehouse. I wasn't scared, but I could just feel that something wasn't right'.

'Okay'

'We continued to kiss, and then he threw me against a wall and starting slurring. He said he wanted to have sex… but…'

Reid knew what she was trying to say.

'But… he didn't want it to be consensual. He wanted to rape you' he read her body language.

'How did you know that?' she stammered, surprised that he could figure it out, 'You're one great profiler'.

He blushed and turned away for a second.

The cold air had the same effect on his blush, and it had for her crying tears.

Gone almost instantly.

She continued, 'So, I started resisting. I didn't want the night to work out that way. So, I started to struggle and escape from him'

'And he got angry and aggressive when you rejected him' Reid added.

'Yeah' she nodded, 'and after that, he said that he was going to rape me whether I liked it or not. Those words… sometimes I can't get his voice out of my head'.

'Hey, it's okay' he quickly embraced her, the tears trickled again down her face.

She couldn't look him in the eye, so she just sobbed and stared at the garden. The sound of his heartbeat, pumping smoothly; soothed her ear.

The feeling of his arms around her, also seemed to calm her down.

'Can you tell me the rest?' he mumbled, as politely as he could. Not wanting to force her to do anything she was uncomfortable with.

'Okay' she wiped her hands over her face, 'The guy handcuffed me to some metal on the warehouse walls. I became trapped'.

Her breathing became static, and Reid just held her tighter; being there for her.

'But, before he could even touch me… Margo came in. She must've followed me. She ran to the guy and begged him to hurt her instead of me'.

'Oh my god' his voice sympathetic.

What had happened was something that no 16 year old should've gone through.

'The guy untied me' she continued, 'And… Margo was tied up instead. But, before I could do anything… he knocked me out'.

'And… when you woke up?'

'He was nowhere to be seen. Margo was still handcuffed to the wall and she was bleeding and bruised. She was sobbing and struggling in the shackles. I stumbled over to her, and I unlocked her with a key that the guy had left on the table. We were free'.

'And what happened after that?'

'Margo wasn't the same. She actually went to an institution for a while. We went to court, and the guy was arrested. But, Margo was always afraid that he'd come back for her and for me'

'Aww… Shalia' he whispered into her hair.

'Yeah, and Margo hasn't been the same since. I kind of moved on… but she never did. She never had a relationship after that. She missed out on so much of her life, because she wanted kids and marriage but she was always afraid. And I did that to her'.

'That guy did that to her. It wasn't you'.

'Yeah, but if I just did what he said. Or if I didn't go to the warehouse. Everything would've been okay'

'You never know that'

'And… I never will' she sighed, 'Margo moved away after that and we haven't seen her since. She was afraid of all of the people in the world who commit the crimes and do the bad things'.

'And… that's why you came here' Reid realised.

'Yeah, Margo hit rock bottom. And, I know that Dad didn't end up like that. Margo was worse than him. She's probably killed herself by now… but I am 100% certain that Dad wouldn't do that. Dad's here and he's alive, somewhere, and I just want to find him'.

'I hope we can help you' he told her, 'We'll be here for you until you find what you're looking for'.

She smiled, for the first time in ages.

'I've been waiting forever for somebody to tell me that they'll always be here for me. I'm so grateful that I met you guys, and I can't even explain it'.

Reid smirked. 'You're one of us now' he reminded her.

'I love hearing you saying that' she hugged him again, 'You're one of my best friends'.

But, then their eyes met.

A thought swirling around.

What if they were more than friends?

They'd spent the last couple of moments, just hugging and embracing each other.

Their lips were only centimetres apart, really.

Reid shook his head at the thought, and let her go.

'Come on, let's head back inside'

He walked ahead of her, and went straight back down to the party.

She followed him, a few metres behind.

When she re-entered the party, Morgan pulled her over.

'My baby girl did a really good job here' he told her, planting a kiss on her hand, 'Great party'.

'Thanks, Derek'

'Feel like dancing?' he teased, squeezing her hand.

The music was playing a snappy beat, _Saturday Night_ by Jessica Mauboy.

'Why not' she laughed and he lead her away to the 'dance floor' space that was centred in the living room.

He twirled her around to the tempo of the music, and she couldn't stop smiling.

She looked him in the eyes and noticed that their lips were only centimetres apart.

She needed to figure out what she wanted.

Because, you couldn't be attracted to two people at the same time.

Could you?

**Thanks for reading, and please comment because I really appreciate your feedback. **

**And thanks to all of those wonderful people who favourite, and follow and review. You are my inspiration. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	13. 13 Exertion and Exhaustion

**For all those who are wondering about the whole 'Shalia/pairing' situation (between her, and Morgan and Reid), I appreciate your feedback and reviews and I'm doing my best to please everyone with this. Shalia's going to choose Morgan (for now) but, don't be surprised if the story flips on it's head in future chapters. I just thought I'd let you know. **

Chapter Thirteen: Exertion and Exhaustion

'Why are we the only ones that are tired from last night?' Shalia wondered, lying down on the desk in Garcia's lair. Her head in her arms, eyes half closed.

'I don't know, Sharlie' Penelope mumbled back, 'but, I'll just tell you this – I am never going to a party again'.

'I'm never planning a party again' Shalia yawned.

'…maybe that's why we're tired'.

Shalia lifted her head off the desk and grinned.

'I'm glad Rossi enjoyed the night. And everybody else' the blonde added.

'Yeah, but then the team get pulled away on another case. Why aren't psychopaths more understanding of our Sunday morning sleep-ins?'

Garcia nodded in agreement, 'I wish I knew the answer to that'.

Shalia smiled weakly from her exhaustion and sculled a sip of her take away coffee, to perk her spirits.

'Split it?' Penelope asked for a sharing, and she too had a sip of the coffee after Shalia'd had enough.

They both felt better after their caffeine hits.

'So, what's the case again?' Shalia questioned, feeling more awake, 'I don't think I was paying attention the first time you told me…'

'Family blitz attacks' Garcia sighed, 'They were pulled over in their cars in quiet freeways and all were stabbed'

'That's terrible'

Shalia clutched at the necklace she wore around her neck. Sometimes when she was reminded of 'family' and 'sufferings' in the same sentence, she'd reach for the only piece of jewellery her father had ever gotten her.

It was a reminder of him. Just something to keepsake.

'Two families. 7 people dead' Penelope continued, with another sigh.

Some photographs of the families popped up on the screen. The blonde had to turn her head away from the snaps.

She couldn't look at the people that had lost their lives; not especially when three of the victims were only children.

'These cases would make you think that nowhere in America is safe' Shalia commented.

'Derek Morgan is a pretty tough and muscly guy in case you noticed. We're a family here, and we all protect each other'.

'That makes sense' the brunette nodded, and threw the empty coffee cup into the nearby trash bin.

'Nobody deserves this' Penelope pointed to a photo of one family and shook her head at the scene.

A loving husband, a loving wife, and a treasured little daughter. All holding hands in a portrait.

Then, there they were in another picture. The murder at the crime scene. All three were stabbed and slaughtered.

'The little girl was only five years old' Garcia breathed a gasp.

'We need to get this UnSub off the freaking streets. No more people from North Carolina will fall victim to this guy, deal?' Shalia reached out her hand to shake with Penelope.

'Deal' the blonde swore, and the two shook hands.

A vibration ding, buzzed the computers and interrupted the quiet in the atmosphere.

**Message from **Derek Morgan 'Chocolate Thunder': _Baby girls, I believe you've gotten the crime scene photos – not good, huh? I'm sorry, I understand that it's hard, but I need you to put the two families through face recognition. Something's up with these two families. We got a lot of work to do. Talk later for an update… and PS, what's up with pretty boy? He hasn't seemed himself all day… let me know what you find xoDerek_

'Do you know what's up with Reid?' Penelope asked as she typed away.

'I've got no idea…' Shalia shrugged honestly. It wasn't technically a lie. The last time they talked, Rossi's party the night before, everything seemed okay.

'Whatever. We'll worry about boy wonder later' Penelope pushed the topic aside, 'Right now, we need to focus on these two cases'

She pressed a button and a few sealed files and records popped up on a screen. She began to unseal them and seek the contents.

'What do you mean by 'two' cases?' Shalia asked, emphasising the word 'two'.

Garcia smirked, 'This case with the blitz attacks and your case'

'My case?'

Shalia immediately thought the worst. About the situation with Margo's rapist? Had Spencer talked earlier with Garcia about it?

He wouldn't do that, would he? She asked him to keep it a secret…

'What's with the worry, Sharlie?' Penelope laughed, 'I meant the case with your Dad. Gideon? We wanted to find him, remember?'

'Oh, right' she awkwardly chuckled, 'That case'.

'Is everything okay?'

'Sure' Shalia nodded, 'It's not the place for that right now. Let's just focus on Raleigh. North Carolina really needs help'.

'Deal' Penelope typed away again, pulling up files after files.

'Okay, so the seven victims dead are split into two families. One of four and one of three. The family of three is Chase and Eliza Baker and their daughter is named Kayla'

'Anything suspicious with them?' Shalia speculated.

'No' Garcia sighed, but then another file loaded on the computer, 'But, Eliza's maiden name is Hornes. And Hornes is the surname of the other family'

'Really?' How did everyone miss that?'

'No idea, but that's okay sugar; we've figured it out now' Penelope grinned, 'The other family is Austin Hornes. He's Eliza's brother. And the other people that were killed are Austin's wife, Lily and their 8 year old twins Chrissie and Kye'.

Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence. Even after years of working on this team, Garcia still struggled to talk about the victims without showing at least, some emotion.

'So, really, they're all family?' Shalia profiled, 'All 7 of them?'

'Precisely'

Penelope quickly emailed the information that she'd found to Morgan's cell phone.

'The rest of the family members all check out. All the Uncles and Aunts etcetera, they all live in California. According to their records, they're in California right now'

'If they're in California, they couldn't have made it to Raleigh to kill their family and back within 24 hours' Shalia sighed, 'So, what kind of UnSub would attack two inter-connected families if he wasn't a member of the family himself?'

'Maybe he knew them personally' Garcia piped.

'You and I should be profilers!'

The two women met in a high-five.

'We'll leave that up to the team' Penelope chuckled, 'Until then, we've got other work to do'.

'I think it's going to be hard to track down, Dad' Shalia protested, 'Maybe this isn't such a good idea'.

'Why not? He's your father, and that's the reason why you came here, right?'

'I guess it's just hit me now, that if Dad comes back, we'll probably go back to Pennsylvania again to see Stephen and Mom. What if I don't want to go back?'

'Why do you want to stay here?' Penelope asked her.

'I've got Aunt Josie'

Garcia smirked, knowing that wasn't the reason, 'Sharlie, just tell me the truth'.

'That… is the truth' she stammered.

'I can tell it's not, because the whole time you've been here – you haven't seen Josie again yet. If I'm to take a guess, I think it's us that's keeping you here'

Shalia mumbled, 'He's keeping me here'.

'Aww my bestie and my chocolate thunder…' Penelope teased.

'Morgan's really sweet' Shalia admitted with a blush, 'I've had a thing for him since I got here. Since the first time he kissed my hand'.

'I've warned you though, he's a womaniser. Just be careful'.

'I know' Shalia nodded, 'But, the other morning, I woke up, and Morgan had made me breakfast and everything. It was like I was his wife'.

'And, it was all cute and now you're crushing big time on him' the blonde teased again.

Thankfully, before Shalia could say anything else (and blush even harder in response), the computer beeped with another interupting vibration.

She sighed a breath of relief, and the colour in her cheeks faded.

This particular beep had a 'red-alert' to it, rather than a soothing tingly bell.

'What's that?' the brunette questioned, pointing to a flashing red dot.

'A screening for the airports in Virginia'

'You're losing me, Penelope…?'

'It took a while for me to track, but 3285 days ago, your Dad's face was caught on security video. That's what the beep is'.

Shalia sat up straight in her chair, and edged herself closer to the computer screens.

The photo was distorted with pixel, but it was her father. She'd know him anywhere.

'Airport? Do you know where he flew to?'

At the request, Garcia began into her hacking.

'Since all the updates and other flunky stuff, it might take me a while, baby cake. Gotta hold tight'.

Shalia sighed and took a deep breath.

Another beep vibrated, this time with the original, familiar tone.

This time, it was two messages instead of one.

**Message from** David Rossi 'Stallion': _Penelope, thanks for all the information on the Hornes and the Bakers. Hotch and I are working on profile right now. Morgan said he was going to message you. He can give you more info. Need to keep digging, but keep up good work. - Rossi_

**Message from **Derek Morgan 'Chocolate Thunder': _Ready for update, baby girls? Records for Austin Hornes says that he used to be in the PD force? Is that correct? Jayje and Hotch went to crime scene and found a gun in Austin's car. Wonder why he didn't use it against the attacker. Might've been because he cared for the safety of his children; although the boy Kye was found with sexual abuse marks on his stomach so we're not certain. Still waiting on M-E report. Anyway, apparently Lily used to suffer depression, according to the neighbours, and she attempted suicide back in 2008 and survived. The Bakers seem targeted at random connection, just because Eliza is Austin's sister. Thinking this is all about the Hornes family and has nothing to do with the Bakers. Let me know if you find anything else… catch ya later my girls. xoDerek_

'I hate cases like this – sometimes there just seems to be no logical explanations for anything' Penelope clicked on another search engine and continued searching for the profile details.

'…Like why Reid is acting so weird and distant today' Shalia mumbled to herself.

'Sorry, did you say something?' Garcia raised an eyebrow.

'Just… um… wondering how the teams going to react when we find Dad. Maybe we should tell them that we knew his last location was the airport' she told her. It was only a little fib.

'I'm not sure that's a good idea. Wouldn't want to destroy their concentration on a case'

'Oh, right' Shalia bit her lip.

'Just got to be patient' Penelope told her sympathetically, 'I know it hurts because you just want you're father home; but it's going to take a lot of time. 3285 days is a long time for the software to restore. It's going to be a challenge'.

'I'm not good at being patient' Shalia confessed with a chuckle.

_Not when it comes to people I love. _

**I was suffering from a bit of 'writer's block disease' with this one. Therefore, I'd really appreciate your comments and what you think should happen in future chapters. I already have some ideas, but I'd love to hear your reviews. Thanks for reading! **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	14. 14 Secrecy

**Okay, hopefully you don't hate me? (blushes sheepishly) I know I haven't updated this for like a year. Over exaggeration of course, but it feels like that long, and I'm sorry. I'll try to update more frequently now that I'm getting back into it. I was suffering from major writer's block disease with this one. Thanks to those who stuck, and are sticking around with this story. Hope you enjoy it. **

Chapter Fourteen: Secrecy

Shalia dialled the number, then covered the mouthpiece speaker. Trying to keep the call as quiet as she possibly could.

She had hidden herself in the fire escape; figuring that this would be the most deserted place in the whole building to make a private phone call.

But, she also knew that she'd be busted if she was caught here by one of the directors. Fire escapes weren't for 'playing in'.

The security camera in the corner, was taunting her with the flashing red 'recording' light.

Best to get this over and done with, as quickly and as quietly as possible.

Shalia tapped her toes as she waited for the other end to pick up.

The five second wait was excruciating.

Tick-tock-tick-tock.

'Shalia?' JJ yawned, 'Are you okay?'.

'I'm fine, I just need to talk to you'.

'Can it wait?' JJ yawned again, 'We were all about to crash for the night. Seriously, you should see this hotel we're staying at in Raleigh. The place is like 5 stars in comfort… I was about to fall asleep in my nice comfy bed'.

'Please, it can't wait' Shalia's tone was desperate. Polite, but needy.

'Alright, Shar. What's up?'.

Shalia sighed a deep breath, 'I want to know why Reid is so down today, has he said anything to anyone?'.

'No, why?'

'Morgan told us that he was acting strange….' she paused, 'Reid really hasn't said anything to you?'.

'The only time I talked to Spence today was when we were briefed on the case. I haven't really seen him all day. He's been checking out the Hornes' neighbourhood with Rossi and Morgan'.

'Oh'

'Relax, Shalia' JJ chuckled awkwardly, 'I'm sure that Spence is fine'.

'Why would Morgan say that he wasn't himself, though' the brunette bit her lip.

She could hear JJ's mobile vibrate through the line.

'Did you just get a text?' she wondered.

'Yeah' JJ nodded, 'Can you give me a second?'.

The agent ended the call; leaving Shalia tapping her toes again on the other end. And waiting for her friend to call her back.

Within a minute, her phone rang.

'Still there?' she asked the blonde.

'Yeah' JJ nodded, 'It's Hotch, he texted to say that there's been another murder'.

'Really? Another one?'

'Yeah, a woman and her two daughters were killed in a car outside of a family restaurant. Same MO as our other victims'.

Another text came through.

'Urgh' JJ sighed, and hissed at her mobile 'Look, Shalia, I'm really sorry, but I've got to go take these'.

'That's okay, I'd better get back to Penelope's lair anyway'.

JJ sighed a deep breath. It sounded like a sigh of empathy. Sympathy.

'Look, I'll try and talk to Spence and get back to you. But, I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry too much' she promised.

'Okay, thanks JJ'.

'My pleasure, Shar'

And then JJ hung up.

Shalia sighed and slammed her phone into her pocket.

Not quite the outcome she had hoped for, on that phone call.

She stared around at the bland coloured walls which surrounded her and kept her confined.

Cold, concrete.

Seemed to represent her mood; she just had a feeling.

A feeling deep in her gut that something wasn't right.

What was so bad; that Reid couldn't tell her?

She just had to find out.

But, diffidently, she knew she also had to listen to JJ.

She had to believe that everything was fine. Besides, there was another crime scene, which meant that there was serious work to do.

The career always came before the personal stuff. For now, she had to trust that Reid was fine.

So, she took a deep breath, and walked away.

Heading back towards Garcia and her computer room.

When she walked through the door, she saw that Penelope hadn't moved in the last half an hour. She was still working hard, as usual.

'Hey, sparkles. I was wondering where you went' the woman was typing at her keyboard at the regular speeds, unimaginable.

She spun around in her office chair to greet the brunette when Shalia walked in; although, the sound of the clicking computer keys never slowed down.

The keys seemed to put Shalia in a daze.

Damn, Penelope was good at typing. She didn't even have to look at the keys, and she rarely made a mistake, as well.

It still ceased to amaze her about how incredible all of her FBI friends were.

She flashed out of her little daydream when Penelope kinked one of her eyebrows to the side and got her attention; asking where she'd been hiding for the last while.

'Sorry, I was…' Shalia paused, and tried to think of a good, considerable lie to tell.

'…in the fire escape, calling JJ, and wanting to know if Reid was okay?' Penelope finished for her, still typing away at her screens.

Shalia smiled defeat and teased, 'Nothing goes past you, does it?'.

'Nope' Garcia grinned back, 'Anyway, how is my resident genius, is he alright?'.

'JJ said she didn't know. But, she said that there was another crime scene'.

'Yeah, a thirty five year old woman, Michelle Davidson. She was found murdered in a car outside of a family restaurant, along with her two daughters'.

'How old were the kids this time?' Shalia's voice actually cracked up as she spoke. Not that Penelope blamed her, the job was hard when there were this many victims.

'Ella was fourteen and Kasey was only eight' Garcia explained, her nose sniffled.

'JJ told me that it was the same MO as the other two families. How are these three people connected to the Hornes and the Bakers?'

'I don't know yet, but, that's what we have to find out'.

Shalia sat in her usual office chair, perched right beside her friend.

Penelope was still typing away, when some files popped up onto the screen.

'Business licence?' Shalia read.

'Yeah, listen to this…'

Penelope pointed at the screen with the tip of a pencil, 'The restaurant that the Davidsons were at is owned by a Robert Lionzo'.

'Who is Robert Lionzo?' Shalia asked confused.

The technical analyst continued to type, and more files continued to pop up onto the screen.

'He's the ex-husband of Michelle. He's Ella and Kasey's father' she explained, pointing with the pen.

'I see that Michelle wanted Ella and Kasey to keep her maiden surname' Shalia added.

'Yeah…' Penelope added, 'and ooh, look at this'.

A Raleigh high school year book popped up onto the screen.

The photographs of all of the senior students.

'Oh my god' Shalia gasped, 'Lionzo went to high school with Austin and Eliza Hornes'.

'Sounds like Lionzo could be a suspect in all of this, he knew all of the victims'.

Penelope opened up her IM messages and she sent some mail to each of the team members.

Then, she relaxed. Leaning on the back of her chair for a while.

'Good work' Shalia commented.

'Thanks'.

A loud vibrating beep came from one of the computer screens.

IM messages from the team, were coming back. Along with their responses.

But, the first few weren't very interesting; mostly just about work.

**Message from** David Rossi 'Stallion': _PD is going to go arrest Robert Lionzo. We're sticking with the profile that he's our UnSub but we'll call you with updates when needed. Good work, get some sleep. – Rossi _

**Message from **Aaron Hotchner 'BOSS MAN': _If Lionzo isn't our UnSub, we're just going to put him into custody interrogation, and we'll need you to keep doing some work on our real UnSub. But, if that happens, I'll hit you back first with an update. Keep your line from me open, please. We'll talk later. Thanks, Hotch. _

But, then, a really interesting message came through. One that instantly caught Shalia's attention.

**Message from **Derek Morgan 'Chocolate Thunder': _Thanks for all of your hard work, my baby girls. We're about to send the PD to go and arrest Lionzo with a warrant. Hopefully Robert will go easy. We'll give another update later, my girls, but for now – we're going to assume that he's our UnSub. By the way, I saw JJ earlier talking with Reid. They both seemed tense, she's probably butting with him for details on why he's acting so weird. She'll email you with deets soon. Let me know if my little bro is okay when you hear about him, Jayje won't tell me what's up. xoDerek _

No sooner after reading that email, Penelope clicked on the message marked 'JJ'.

Shalia bit her lip while she read, not knowing what to expect from it.

**Message from **Jennifer Jareau 'JJ': _Okay, I won't bore you two with case details. By now, you probably know what's going on with Lionzo, we're bringing him in. I talked to Spence earlier, he said that while he was at the Baker's house, he found a clue of evidence that he was too scared to show anyone. And then he just left the room, but I heard that he was making weird phone calls… with some of the other techs at Quantico; but not you, Penelope, which I thought was strange. If there was a clue that he found – why wouldn't he come to you? Anyway, he said that you'd find out what it is. Something about how the computer hacking that you two can do, he said that you'd figure it out pretty easily. But he told me to warn you about the number '65' what ever that is? I don't know what he means. But, he's fine, except he's definitely shaken up by whatever he's found. I just thought that I would let you know. I'll see you guys when I get home, stay safe. With love, from JJ. _

Shalia still had her lip bit.

'Why would Reid find evidence concerning this case, that he wouldn't tell us about?' she turned to Penelope.

'I don't know' Garcia shrugged, 'But I'll talk to some of the techs and try to figure it out'

She used her pencil to poke some numbers into her phone intercom.

She dialled the technical level, and Kevin Lynch picked up the phone.

'Penelope?' he droned in his usual voice, 'Hi, what's up?'.

'Has Spencer Reid contacted you guys?' Garcia asked her ex-boyfriend, 'Anybody on your floor?'

'Yeah, he called me earlier. And said that I had to do something to one of your computers… he gave me direct instructions…' Lynch explained.

'Kevin - what did he ask you to do?'

'He told me that a high school yearbook would pop up onto one of your screens eventually. Reid asked me to block it, so that you couldn't access it when it came up'.

'The Raleigh High School yearbook from the case we're working on right now?'

'Yeah' Kevin continued, 'Reid told me that eventually a yearbook would pop up. And he told me to hack it, so that you couldn't see the information on the screen. He didn't want you to see anything to do with the book'.

Penelope was confused; didn't she and Shalia see the yearbook before?

Why wouldn't Reid want them to know that the Hornes and Robert Lionzo went to the same high school?

The technical analyst began to do some clicking on the computer screens, bringing up the yearbook again.

But this time, it wouldn't come up.

The information flashed red in a large bolded icon with the words, _'This information has been blocked for access by the FBI'. _

Frustrated, Penelope turned her focus back to Lynch.

'Kevin, the yearbook is blocked' she told him.

'Exactly, I did what Reid asked me to do. He asked me to block it for you'.

'Can you please bring it back?' Shalia piped in, curious.

'Okay…' Kevin seemed uncertain, but, within a minute or so, the blocked icon had vanished and the yearbook contents came back onto Garcia's computer screens.

'Thanks, Kevin' Garcia and Shalia spoke at the exact same time.

'You're welcome' Kevin shrugged, 'Call me if you need anything else, Penelope'.

Then he hung up. Which the women didn't mind.

Their focus quickly attended back to the mysterious yearbook.

What was Reid blocking from their view? What didn't he want them to see?

'What number did JJ say that Reid wanted to warn us about?' Garcia asked.

'Number 65' Shalia nodded. But, she shrugged her shoulders, only half certain.

After quickly looking over JJ's message, just to double check; the two then began to browse through the yearbook.

'Page 65' Penelope clicked on the yearbook page numbers, the book flipping to the particular page she chose.

Page 65.

It was a page full of comments from the students.

'This is what Reid is so afraid of?' Shalia was confused.

'Yeah, I don't get it either' Garcia agreed.

After reading a few of the comments, Shalia came to a particular one which caught her eye.

And suddenly, it all made sense.

It made sense why Reid wanted to protect her from what was written there.

_I didn't always live in Raleigh, I used to go to high school in DC. And then, when I moved down here to North Carolina - it really became hard for me. Which is why I'm glad that I met so many new people at this school; they were all so nice to me. I actually really missed one of my DC friends, Margo, who I'd like to give a shout out to right now, and anyway, my Raleigh friends actually drove me up to see Margo. We all became like one inseparable group, and I know, that in the future, and we all go to college and stuff; that we'll all remain inseparable. We'll always look out for each other, and we'll always all be best friends. There's a picture of us below, all hanging out together. Thanks school, for bringing me closer to all of these amazing people! Eliza Hornes. _

Penelope scrolled down the page of the yearbook, to the photograph that was attached to the bottom of Eliza's caption.

Shalia bit her lip, she was speechless.

'Margo. That's my Margo'.

**Thankyou for reading, and I'd really appreciate your feedback and your comments and thoughts. **

**-bittersweetgenius**


	15. 15 More to It than That

**I'm back, and here's the next chapter. Sorry, for the wait. But, hey, at least it was shorter than a whole month this time. Enjoy! **

**-bittersweetgenius **

Chapter Fifteen: More to It than That

Penelope used a lead pencil to press some numbers into her intercom phone and then she hit the dial button.

'Hey, baby girl' Morgan answered.

'Derek, thank goodness you're there' she sighed relieved.

'What's going on, mumma?' the man's voice became concerned.

'It's Shalia'

'What happened?'

'Reid called Kevin and blocked off some of my computer settings so that we couldn't read certain things on the search engine screen'.

Morgan bit his lip, 'So, what's that got anything to do with Shalia? Is she okay?'.

'Has Shalia ever mentioned anybody named 'Margo' before?' Garcia questioned.

'Margo?' Morgan wracked his brain, 'Wasn't 'Margo' the name of her cousin? When she told us the story of how she grew up… with her Aunt Josie and her cousin?'.

'Oh, of course' Garcia sighed, and she face palmed her hand to her nose, 'I completely forgot who Margo was'.

'Okay…' Derek was still really confused, 'What's going on, Penelope?'.

'Margo was friends with Eliza Baker. Eliza, when she was in high school and still had the surname 'Hornes', spoke about Margo in her high school senior yearbook'.

'And…?'

'When Shalia saw that Margo knew Eliza…' she stopped to pause, 'Derek, she burst into tears. She ran out of the room 10 minutes ago. She's so upset…'.

It was Morgan's turn to sigh. He didn't say anything to respond, he just blew himself a couple of deep breaths.

'Derek, are you still there?'

'…yeah' he sighed again.

'I don't know what's going on? Do you?'.

'Why would her cousin's name have such an emotional outbreak on her?' Morgan wondered, 'I really don't know'.

'Is she okay?' he added quickly, worried.

Penelope stared at her computer screens; one of them was the security footage for the whole building. She could see Shalia in the bullpen area, sitting at one of the desks.

The brunette had her head in her hands, and she'd been crying. Her eyes were all puffy and red.

'What's she doing?' Derek asked through the phone.

'She's at Reid's desk. She's balling her eyes out' Garcia answered.

Morgan sighed, 'Is there anything I can do?'.

'Just finish the case and get home safe'.

'Okay, I'll talk with Reid as well. See if he knows anything else that we don't'.

'Sounds good. We'll talk later'.

'And I'll give you update emails on the case' Morgan finished.

They both politely said their separate goodbyes and then Penelope hung up.

She couldn't stop looking at the security screens. She had never seen Shalia this upset before.

Slowly, the blonde began to chew on her bottom lip in a nervous reflex. After she'd realised what she'd unconsciously been doing; she spun around in her chair.

She grabbed a strip of gum from her desk drawer and began chewing on that, instead of her lip.

But, the chocolate-peppermint flavour wasn't making her feel any better.

Shalia was obviously in pain about something; and it hurt that Garcia didn't know what it was.

And it was clear that the woman wanted to be left alone – she was ignoring all of the fellow agents in the room, who kept asking her if she was alright.

There didn't seem to be anything that anybody could do.

Garcia pondered getting up and going out into the bullpen to talk to her friend, maybe, try to cheer her up or something.

But, just when she was about to stand; she saw Shalia grab her cell phone from her pocket.

Within a minute, Penelope got a text on her own mobile.

_You're probably worried about me. I'm okay, I just need a minute to be left alone. I'll be back in, soon. Thanks. –Shar_

And after reading through the text, Garcia just stayed in her seat in her office.

It was hard to respect someone's wishes; especially, when all you wanted to do was give them a hug.

**(BULLPEN)**

Shalia placed her cell phone back into her pocket, and smiled weakly to herself.

She was wondering what Penelope would have been thinking when she received the text, and she'd hoped that she'd respect the privacy to be left alone.

She just couldn't handle seeing anybody.

She was still trying to process everything; she couldn't believe that Margo knew Eliza.

Did that mean that Eliza knew what had happened? About the warehouse? About the party?

About where Margo was now?

But, what was the point in worrying about all of that stuff, anyway? What good would it do?

Eliza was dead. And so was her husband. And her daughter.

It wasn't like she could talk to anybody about Margo. All of Margo's 'friends', were the case victims. They were all dead.

Needing comfort in somebody who actually knew the story, Shalia whipped her phone out of her pocket again.

And she hit the button which bearing the number '4', her speed dial for Reid.

'Spencer Reid' he answered when he picked up, 'Shalia? Is that you?'.

'Yeah' she sniffled.

'Look, I'm sorry if I've upset you. I honestly did, I tried to protect you from the truth about Margo and Eliza'.

'Reid, I need you to do something for me' she spoke softly.

'Anything. What do you need?'

'I need you to tell Morgan what happened. Tell him the story that I told you on Rossi's birthday. On the balcony'.

'I thought it was a personal story that you wanted to keep between us?' Reid replied, confused.

She sniffled again, and blew her nose with a tissue.

'Please, Reid' she begged him.

'Okay, I'll tell Morgan' he nodded.

'Thankyou'.

She was about to hang up, when he stopped her.

'Shalia, can I ask you a question?'

'Sure'

'Does Penelope know?'

'No, she doesn't. And if it's okay, I think it's best that we keep it that way'.

'You don't trust Penelope?'

'Of course I do' she implored, 'I just want to keep this between, you, and me, and Derek'.

'If that's what you want…' he sighed.

'It is. Reid, please'.

'Okay' he nodded.

'Thankyou' and then she hung up on him.

She fell onto his desk again, with her head in her hands.

Softly, the tears began to fall again.

But, she didn't even bother to stop them.

She knew that they'd continue to flow for a while.

At least until Morgan and Reid were back, so that everything could be sorted out.

**(RALEIGH, North Carolina). **

Even though she had disconnected the call, Reid's phone was still stuck to his ear.

He was worried about her. Her voice had been all croaky, and he could tell that she was crying.

He couldn't even focus on any of the case details anymore, all that he was thinking about was Shalia.

The broken, battered, brunette that probably could use a friend.

The friend that probably needed to hear… the truth. The truth being, that Margo and Eliza, and the fact that they were friends, weren't the only part of the story.

There was more.

Reid was supposed to be writing notes about Lionzo's interrogation, and how he reacted to what Hotch was telling him about.

How Lionzo reacted to the news about the deaths of Michelle and Ella and Casey.

But, Reid couldn't focus on work. So far he only had a setence of notes, instead of his usually expected paragraph.

Needless to say, Reid wasn't himself.

'Spence?' JJ got his attention, walking up to him. 'Are you okay?'.

'Yeah' he nodded, 'Have you seen Morgan?'.

'He's in that room down the hall' JJ pointed.

Reid passed her his pen and his piece of paper, 'Can you please write notes for Hotch on Lionzo?'.

'Um…sure' she stammered and accepted the paper. Surprised that he was dumping his workload onto her.

'I'm sorry' he apologised, and he left JJ alone.

He headed down the hall and met up with Morgan in one of the other rooms.

The African American had a map in front of him, spread out on a table; he was forming a geographical profile about the victim's pattern.

'Can I talk to you for a second?' Reid asked, politely interrupting.

'Oh yeah' Morgan looked up, greeting him, 'I was going to talk to you too'.

'About Shalia?' Reid questioned.

'Yeah, she found out that her cousin was friends with Eliza Baker. And she seemed really upset about it'.

'Yeah, my doing. I feel terrible' Reid sighed. He sat down in a chair on the other side of the large square map.

'What's up, Reid?'

'Shalia wanted me to tell you about the truth about what happened with Margo'

'Okay?' Morgan pressed for more information. So, Reid told the story.

'When Shalia was sixteen years old, she went with Margo to a party. Anyway, um… this guy took Shalia to this warehouse where he turned violent and wanted to rape her. Margo turned up and started protecting Shalia from the guy'.

'And what happened next?' Morgan asked.

'Shalia got knocked out, and when she woke up, Margo was all covered in blood and she'd been raped. The guy had already taken off'.

'So, Margo suffered through the rape in order to protect Shar? That's terrible'.

'There's more to it though' Reid added, 'Shalia felt guilty. She's miserable, because they arrested the guy, but Margo never recovered from it. Shalia feels like it's her fault that Margo is so battered and vulnerable, because it was supposed to be her that got attacked by the guy in the first place'.

'Reid, why are you telling me this?'.

'Because, Shalia looked up to Margo like a sister. And now, nobody knows where Margo is. She ran away or committed suicide or something. Nobody knows about Margo, Shalia hasn't seen her for years. And now, she's going to watch us tear through Eliza's life, and if Margo ever comes up again in conversation, Shalia might be a bit upset about it. And we'll need to be there for her'.

'Okay' Morgan nodded, 'Who else knows about this?'.

'Just you and me. And Shalia, of course' Reid took a deep breath, 'Morgan, she doesn't want anybody else to know about her past. So, it's up to us to keep it between us. We can't tell anybody else, not unless Shar wants us to'.

'Okay. Deal. We'll keep it between us'.

Morgan turned back to his map and dotted a pen marking around one of the town's districts.

'I think I've worked out the pattern' he exclaimed, 'I'm going to go get Hotch'.

He got up and was about to leave Reid alone, when he turned back towards him.

'Thanks for telling me about Shalia' he nodded, 'Is that everything?'.

Reid sighed.

Somebody had to know the truth.

He might as well tell Morgan what else he knew.

'Actually, there is one more thing…' he began.

But, he was interrupted when Rossi burst into the room.

'Reid, Morgan…' he spoke breathlessly, 'We've got to get back to work. Lionzo's not our UnSub'.

'How do we know that?' Derek asked the older agent.

'Because, when Hotch told him about his daughter's deaths, he burst into tears and turned hysterical. There is no way that Lionzo could've committed the crime, not with the kind of emotion he's showing' Rossi explained, 'And the M-E report just doesn't match. The coroner says that they've found traces of DNA on Michelle's body. It is from an unknown male who isn't in the system'.

'Okay' Reid and Morgan nodded at the same time.

'Hotch wants to talk to us all, ASAP' Rossi instructed, and he left the room, leaving the other two agents alone.

'You're were going to say something, Reid?' Morgan apologized for Rossi's interruption.

'Nah, it's not important' the genius shrugged.

Morgan nodded and headed out of the room to follow Rossi.

But, Reid just stayed by himself for a minute.

He whipped out his phone and quickly dialled Kevin Lynch.

'Reid?' Kevin answered, 'Can I do anything else for you?'.

'Just send me that address that we found' Reid explained.

'Deal' Kevin nodded, 'It'll come through as soon as this phone call ends'.

'Thanks, Kevin. And don't tell Penelope'. Then Reid hung up.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and sighed.

He was immediately regretting his lie, the one which he'd told Morgan.

He should have told Morgan what he'd found out. He just didn't know how to.

Especially since, he hadn't even told Shalia the truth yet.

It was probably best if he and Kevin were the only people who knew anyway.

**Thanks for reading! What do you think should happen next? And please leave your comments in the reviews, I really appreciate them. Till next time. **

**-bittersweetgenius **


	16. 16 CCMS

Chapter Sixteen: Case Closed, Mystery Solved

Some cases just didn't end the way you wanted them to end – and this was one of those cases.

1 month, before all of the Raleigh killings started; there was a happy, family man named Cooper Walker. Walker was happily married to his wife of five years, until she decided to break up with him and confess that their relationship just wasn't working.

Walker started becoming angry, and violent towards his wife.

Feeling threatened by Walker's outburst of not wanting her to leave, the wife committed suicide and crashed her car. She didn't even make it to the ER, she died on immediate impact.

And Walker had been broken ever since.

He started looking over all of his past relationships, and questioning where everything went wrong.

This was when he noticed that one of his ex-girlfriends, Lily (Hornes), was now happily married with kids.

Walker started attacking the happy families, because, they had what he no longer had. So he killed the Hornes and he killed the Bakers.

He chose to attack the families in their cars; a signature, for that was exactly how Walker's wife killed herself.

After that, Walker noticed that his boss had just separated from his wife; his boss being Robert Lionzo and the wife being Michelle Davidson.

Jealous that Lionzo was accepting the separation for Michelle, Walker got mad again and this time attacked Michelle and Ella and Kasey as a way to get back at Lionzo for letting 'the family go' and signing the divorce papers.

Just like that, ten people were dead.

The BAU only caught up to Walker, after he'd kidnapped Lionzo; and the case ended with a suicide-by-cop.

Cooper Walker was killed by Hotch, with a bullet. And Robert Lionzo was the only person whose life the team was able to spare.

Just like that, the case was over.

And then, the team all hopped on their jet and headed back home. Walker shouldn't of had to die; but, at the same time… his wife, his stressor, shouldn't have died either.

There were about ten lives the team should've been able to save on that case; and they had failed.

They were all pretty miserable about the outcome; Hotch and JJ especially, because they didn't even want to imagine what life would be like without their children. Not like Lionzo had to.

The team all just sat on the jet, their thoughts all to themselves.

Nobody spoke a word.

Morgan had his headphones in.

Rossi was doing paperwork to clear his mind.

Hotch and JJ were texting and calling their families.

And Reid just sat there. Doing absolutely nothing.

He had a few books in his shoulder bag that he could've read, but, he just wasn't in the mood.

He stared out of the window, at the night time sky. Everything was peaceful, but, something didn't feel right.

And he didn't know if it had anything to do with the case…

Or if it had anything to do with… Shalia.

Morgan must've noticed that Reid was feeling dis-connected from the group, because he took his headphones off and stopped his music.

'Hey, Reid…' Morgan whispered.

No response.

'Hey, Reid…' he spoke a little louder.

Still no response.

'Reid!' Morgan shook his arm.

'What, Derek?'

'I just wanted to know if you were alright, man, you seem a little distant'.

'I'm fine' the younger agent shrugged, and he turned his attention back to the night sky.

'Come on, man. It's me. Talk to me'

Reid rolled an eye, 'I've already told you that I'm fine'.

'You don't seem fine' Morgan folded his arms, and smiled a sympathic smile, 'Reid, talk to me'.

'It's… nothing'.

Morgan wasn't buying it, 'Reid? Please, man? You know that you can talk with me about anything'.

Reid wasn't even meeting eyes with him; he was still so focused on the colour of the sky.

'Please?' Morgan bit his lip.

Reid sighed in defeat. 'If you get me a pen and a piece of paper, we'll talk'.

Morgan was a bit surprised about the strange request, but he nodded, and got up from his seat opposite the youngest agent.

He scurried around the Jet for a pen and a piece of paper and he finally came back with what Reid had asked for.

'There' he exclaimed, placing the items in front of the young genius, 'Now, can we talk?'.

Reid sighed again, and grabbed the pen.

He scribbled something on the piece of paper and then he folded it up. He passed it to Morgan, who read it through.

'What's _Unit 4, 365 Cove Crescent_?' Morgan asked, reading the address.

'Just knock on the front door' Reid told him.

'What's there?'

'Something that will change everything' Reid turned to look at the window again. He curled himself up into a ball, with his head just softly touching his knees.

'What's there, Reid?' Morgan repeated, 'What's with all the secrecy?'.

'I can't explain it' Reid yawned, 'But, you should go there to that address'.

'Is there a time you want me to go there?'

'As soon as you get time off from work' Reid shrugged, 'But do me a favour, don't tell Shalia'.

Before Morgan could even respond, Reid had yawned again and was falling asleep, leaning up against the window frame.

'What's here, kid?' Morgan asked the rhetorical question to the piece of paper, believing that Reid was already drifted off.

Reid heard the question, but he didn't want to answer it.

It'd be better if Morgan just found out the truth, anyway.

Morgan could probably explain it all to Shalia better than he ever could.

So, with that, he let sleep take him away, and soon he was snoring softly.

Morgan just watched as Reid fell asleep and eyed him suspicious; Reid seemed relieved. Like he didn't have to worry anymore, like a huge weight had just lifted off his shoulders.

What was so bad about the address? Why was Reid being eaten up, so badly about it?

Morgan gripped the piece of paper tighter, and then, stood up from his seat.

He walked up and perched himself beside Rossi and Hotch, who were sitting at the other end of the plane.

'What's up, Morgan?' Hotch asked, looking up from his phone and grabbing some of Rossi's files to share the workload.

'I was wondering if I could have a day off tomorrow. There's some…' he gazed down at the piece of paper in his hand, 'some business I need to take care of'.

'Is it about a case?' Hotch wondered.

'No… it's a more… personal matter' Morgan shrugged, 'If it's not okay, Hotch, I can stay. You don't have to give me a day off'.

'How much personal time do you need?' Rossi added.

'No more than a day' Morgan was certain, 'I just need to go check out something'.

'Sure' Hotch accepted the request, 'We'll call you if there's an urgent case that we need your help with… but, everything should be okay'.

'Thankyou, Hotch'.

Then the African American headed back to his seat, and tried to fall asleep.

But, Derek just couldn't.

How could he?

The address could be anything.

So, what did it all mean?

And why was Reid so worried about it all?

And why couldn't he tell Shalia?

There were so many questions that Morgan felt that he needed answer to. But, he had no answers.

He didn't know what to expect. Or about what was coming.

He knew he just wanted to get home.

And later, he got that wish. They arrived in Quantico.

After a while, the Jet hit back at home and everybody exited.

Some headed to the BAU to do their files, and some, like Morgan headed to his house and to his bed.

He drove towards his place and pulled up in his driveway. Only to walk to his apartment, and find Shalia sleeping on the couch with the TV on.

Amaze-vacuum-cleaner advertisements. Typical.

The brunette stirred when she heard the front door open.

'Morgan, is that you?'.

'Hey, baby girl' he greeted her, locking the door for the night and then walking over to plant a quick greeting kiss on Shalia's hand (like he always did).

'Are you okay?' she asked him, 'How was Raleigh? I heard Hotch had to shoot the guy'.

'Suicide-by-cop' the agent explained, crashing on the couch beside her.

'Aww, that's terrible' she sighed.

'Yeah'.

Morgan laid down, his head resting softly on her lap. She stroked his head, admiring the bald-ness.

'Didn't you used to have hair?'

'Got sick of it' he shrugged, 'Why, don't you like it bald?'.

She smiled, 'I don't really care how you look or what not. I like you just the way you are'.

'You like me?' he smirked, teasingly.

She blushed, and was thankful for the darkness of the night, so that he couldn't really notice it.

She meant for it to be as a friendly compliment. She didn't mean to express how she really felt about him.

He smiled back up at her, and sat up, so that he could look in her eyes.

'You like me?' he repeated with another smirk.

'….maybe….' she teased back.

But, before he could even lean over and kiss her, she yawned and politely covered her mouth.

'Sorry, I'm exhausted' she apologized, and she excused herself from the couch.

As she jumped up, she noticed a folded piece of paper lying on the ground. It must've fallen out of Morgan's pants pocket.

She bent down to pick it up and read the contents.

'What's _Unit 4, 365 Cove Crescent_?' she questioned.

'I don't know, it's something Reid wanted me to check out' he explained.

'Oh, like for a case or something? Does Reid have unfinished business?'.

'Something like that… I might not be here when you wake up' he added, 'I should probably leave early to go track the place down'.

'That's alright' she laughed, 'Just promise me that you'll come back alive'.

'I promise' he smiled back.

She quickly pecked him on the cheek, whispered a quick goodnight and then headed to her bedroom.

Morgan just watched her go.

He whipped his phone out of his pocket and quickly sent Reid a text.

_Man, you said I wasn't allowed to call Penelope, and don't worry – I'm not going to. But, who does live at Unit 4, 365 Cove Crescent? Do I introduce myself as FBI? Do these people know who I am? Why don't you want me to tell Shar? IDK what u want me to do, Reid. Give me more info? Please, man? Hit me back. _

After waiting for 10 minutes straight, there was still no reply.

So, Morgan gave up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth before bed. He was hoping that during the time he left and the time that he'd come back, Reid would have replied to the text.

Which he had.

_Morgan, I just need you to promise that you won't tell Shalia? - Reid_

Morgan quickly sent a reply.

_What does it matter what I tell Shalia, man? _

_It matters because I don't want to scare her… - Reid _

Morgan was intrigued.

_What is all this? Why would it scare her? Reid, man, you're kind of worrying me, man. What is all of this about? _

_I just don't want to involve Shalia in this yet … - Reid _

_Are we in danger? Trouble or something? *so confused* _

Morgan smirked as he added a confused face emoji to his text.

Then he phone rang, with an incoming call from Reid.

'Reid?' Derek answered.

'I'm sick of texting, Morgan' Reid grumbled.

'What's all of this about, man?'.

'I can't tell you that, you might not believe me'

'Why wouldn't I believe you?' Morgan protested.

'…please just trust me, Morgan. This is for Shalia. Okay?'.

'Why can't you just tell me?'

'Because I don't want to hurt her'

'You have a crush on her or something, Reid?'

'No!' the doctor practically screamed, 'She's just a friend'

'Then, just tell me what's this all about?' Morgan argued back.

'I'll text you in the morning' Reid explained, 'I promise that I'll explain everything'.

'Alright, but, remember that a promise is a promise' Morgan joked, 'I don't mean to pry, man, I care about her too'.

He could hear Reid sigh through the phone.

Then the beeping of frantic buttons.

'Talk more later, Morgan' the man said, and then he hung up.

Morgan was left confused again, until one more text came through.

_You really want to know who lives at Unit 4, 365 Cove Crescent? It's Shalia's cousin. It's Margo. _

Morgan didn't even know how to respond to that.

He just grabbed his car keys again, and headed out of the front door, into the night.

**Thanks for reading! And please leave your comments and thoughts in the reviews, I really appreciate them. Also, feel free to write about what you want to happen in this story, in future chapters…. (smugs) I have some ideas of what might happen but I'd love your suggestions. Thanks again, though! **

**-bittersweetgenius **


End file.
